The Howling Winds
by Nijad
Summary: 24 years after the fall, the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses enters the newly rebuilt and renamed Nikos Academy, to train and follow in the footsteps of those who saved the world. Focuses on 2 OC teams, SAJJ(sage) consisting of entirely original characters, and ASNL(arsenal), made up of Whiterose, Bumblebee, and Renora kids. Crossposted on Ao3.
1. The Beastmaster and the Butterfly

The autumn air was crisp and cool, whistling softly as it carried fallen leaves across the expansive courtyard of Nikos Academy. The large, circular area was still somewhat crowded, with deposits of individuals or small groups scattered about. Most made idle chitchat, nervous about what lay ahead. Some silently sat, pondering where to go from here. Others simply looked lost, either staring dejectedly at a map or simply looking around for where to go, their pride disallowing them to ask for help. Yet, the young man walking into the courtyard fell into none of these camps. He knew exactly where he was going, he just hadn't gotten there yet.

The man paused at the statue situated in the center of the yard; a towering depiction of the academy's namesake, hoisting her spear into the air in a triumphant pose. He looked down at the surrounding water feature, looking at his reflection. Staring back at him was a bison faunus, with darker skin than most, and white horns poking out of his skull. His eyes were a deep brown, and his black hair rested in a high-tied ponytail that flowed in the wind with his simple brown jacket and pants. His gaze was drawn slightly upward, to the placard resting at the base of the statue. Rather than the expected memoriam message or dedication, it was merely the word 'DESTINY' in all capital letters.

"Heh, destiny? That's a pretty word." He said out loud, chuckling to himself.

"What makes you say that?"

The voice appeared so suddenly that the man nearly jumped in surprise. He then noticed there was a woman sitting on a bench nearby. A white cloak sat around her neck, parted to allow her body to rest comfortably. Within the cloak, harnesses of at least a half dozen oversized handguns could be seen, and the inside of the cloak itself was lined with countless knives. Her silver hair seemed to not stop, reaching almost to the ground from her seated position. He then noticed her arms resting behind her head, both of which were entirely metal to the shoulder. Most mysterious, however, was the silver band tied around her eyes, seeming to block her vision. She stood up, walking to the man.

"Also, thanks. I've been wondering what that thing said for about ten minutes. God, is it so hard to raise or sink the font even a little? Like, I understand that few huntsmen or huntresses are blind, but there have to be, like, blind relatives right? Ugh, I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry." She stuck out a metal hand to the man. "The name's Alice. Alice Tuyet"

The man took the metal appendage in his own. "Donovan Stormbringer."

"Stormbringer? That's an unusual surname." Alice commented, stretching her arms back around her head. He tried his hardest to look at her without staring at anything, even though he knew she couldn't tell if he was anyway.

"It's a traditional thing. Where I'm from, you call yourself by the name of your tribe." He paused, turning back to the statue. "As for what I meant, destiny is one of those words that really is just pretty. It holds no worth, no value, nothing. Nothing's ever preordained, at least in my eyes. I like to believe we forge our own paths."

"We've known each other for a minute, and we're already into hard philosophy." She laughed heartily. "C'mon, it'd probably be bad if we missed the initiation speech. It starts in a few minutes."

Alice beckoned, and Donovan followed her, walking next to the blind woman. He was admittedly worried for her. How could a blind person be a huntress? No less, how could a blind person fire a gun, or throw a knife? He quickly brushed the worry aside, realizing that, hey, this is Nikos Academy. They wouldn't let you in here unless you were one of the best of the best. He figured there was something to it he couldn't see, ironically.

"Well. on that whole destiny matter, if it's not too heavy to start a friendship off with, I think I agree with you. As you can probably tell, if destiny is real, it probably had different plans for me. I mean, how many things am I missing?" She paused, giggling to herself. "The answer is two, by the way. I have the eyes, they just don't fuckin' work." She laughed loudly again. Donovan found himself smiling. He considered himself lucky to have run into someone with such a sunny disposition right off the bat.

"Well, to play devil's advocate, what if destiny planned for you to be a huntress all along, and just lead you into the path you ended up taking? You fought and trained hard, thinking you were defying fate, when in reality you were playing into its hands the entire time."

"Jeez, you sound like a supervillain or something." Her face twisted into a grimace, as she thought on his words. "But if that is the case, then what's even the point of arguing for or against it? You could, like, say that about everything."

Donovan laughed. "Now you're getting it! The best course of action is to seize our fates, because if there is destiny, then we're losing noting, but if there's not, sitting around waiting for it will leave you behind. All we can do is keep moving forward."

"You're pretty enthusiastic about philosophy for a huntsman." She paused, before sighing. "I wonder if Nero got here safe."

"Nero? Friend of yours?"

"Nero Rose? You don't know him?"

"Should I?"

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"No," he said, attempting to math out in his head how far his settlement was from Vale. He gave up after running out of landmarks after 200 miles. "Not at all."

"I'm sure you'll run into him eventually. He tells his story better than I do."

"I'll look forward to that."

The two walked onward, towards the giant tower of an academy that was looming over them.


	2. The DJ, King, Piglet, Stray, and Crow

Elsewhere on the campus, an airship touched down on the airdocks sat upon a cliff over the ocean.. Off of it, steps a horde of students from further out than walking distance, be it kingdoms or islands away. Stepping off with the masses is a group of four huntsmen in training that seemed to already be in a group of their own. The shorter man with blue eyes, a long black braid of hair the same colour as his jacket and pants, and red headphones around his neck turned to the rest of the group.

"Alrighty guys, our first goal is finding Jahim and Alice in this crowd. Anyone able to get through to 'em?"

"Well," said the taller, short black-haired boy with violet eyes, and a cat tail wrapped around the waist of his purple attire. "Al doesn't even have a scroll, so no on her, and as for the Phoenix, he's being irresponsible as usual, not even checkin' his damn messages. So, as usual, a resounding no on both fronts."

"Hey!" eagerly interjected the short redheaded woman with brilliant pink eyes. "I'm sure they're both here. Jahim's big bro wouldn't let that nerd skip out, and Alice lives like five minutes from here. They're both here, and it's not like they're hard to miss, amirite?"

"You've got a point" the faunus replied. "Plus, we can always call the Butterfly's teacher if she doesn't show. He's a professor here, so it should all pan out."

"Well," The braided boy continued, "looks like onto phase two; getting to the school in time for this meeting."

"I have someone to meet, so you guys go ahead." finally responded the fourth member, her blonde cat ears beginning to lay flat upon her short hair, her golden eyes narrowing. Her hand gripped the handle of the gargantuan sword on her back for a moment. The other faunus put his hand on her shoulder.

"Amber, you sure you'll be alright on your own? I can stay with you if you need-"

"I'm fine Porfirio, please." Amber interrupted. "Just go with the others. If I need you, I'll call you, okay?"

Porfirio was hesitant to let go, but finally obliged. "I'm just a call away, okay? We all are. Please don't hesitate, okay?"

"I won't. I'll see you at the ceremony, brother."

Porfirio gave one final caring look before walking forward, the others following suit. Once they were out of sight, she leaned against a nearby pole, and sighed. She pulled out a cigarette and went to light it before a voice called out to her.

"You know, if you're that intent on killing yourself, the cliff over here's pretty damn steep."

Amber couldn't help but smile. Anyone other than that voice making a comment like that would earn a penetrating stare, and probably a follow up penetrating strike from her blade, but Jay was different.

"Stress relief comes in different extremes, Crow. I'm not quite at the cliff tier yet."

A giant figure dropped down from the nearby tree, the crowd having completely disappeared. She bore shoulder-length black hair, and eyes red as blood. Her skin was coated in scars, but what was most glaring were the ebony wings sprouting from her back, snaking their way out of openings carved into the shirt and jacket she wore. "If I have my way you won't ever get that far." She leaned against the opposite side of the pole, facing away from the other girl. "So.. how are the memories? Anything new resurface?"

Amber sighed before taking a long drag. "No, most of them are still really cloudy. I've apparently known Headmaster Arc my whole life, but I have no idea who he is at all. I'm sure seeing him and talking to him will jog _something_ about him, but right now he's just a name and a face that looks weirdly a bit like grandpa." Amber rolled her eyes at Jay's chuckle in response. "Other than that, nothing major. No more relapses since we last chatted. But… what about you? Are you really gonna appear publicly?"

"I figured it was gonna happen sooner or later. Visage, which is a badass moniker i must say, had stories told about them all over the east. These things aren't exactly easy to conceal, anyway." She gestured to the wings on her back. "Figured may as well legitimize myself and make the fight a little easier. Plus, I figured if I'm a legitimized huntress, people will stop tryin' to kill me for my feathers so often." She laughed, earning another scowl from Amber she couldn't see. Being a rare Avian faunus, she and her kind were often hunted by less reputable mercenaries, and their plumage is worth a killing on the black markets. "So," Jay continued, "when are you gonna introduce me to those friends of yours?"

"If I have a choice, Porfirio will never meet you." Jay's laughter was immediate. "My stories do not do that dumbass justice. The others, I'm sure you'll naturally meet 'em eventually. Especially Nero, his reputation precedes him quite a bit."

"Oh, I'm sure Mr. 'born leader' and I will get along just fine. What about that other girl?"

"Sienna? Well, she's like her mother. Like, a lot like her mother."

"Jeez. If your tales hold any water, that's a red flag if I've ever heard one."

"Seriously, if you asked me whether Lie Ren was at all involved in her upbringing, I'd deny it every time. She's a good friend though. I'm sure the two of you will get along. You both have a...similar philosophy for combat."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you're both energetic monster-women who probably bench press continental shelves?"

"Says the girl with an 80 pound slab of steel for her weapon."

"Fair enough." Amber finally yielded a laugh to Jay's retorts. "Anyway, let's make our way to this ceremony. Don't want to be late to the first day."

"Sounds good. Maybe there'll be a food stand or something on the way there."

Amber chuckled again, flicking her cigarette off the cliff. "You're impossible to deal with, you know that?"


	3. The Phoenix and the Elder Serpent

"You've ensured that your weapon is cleaned, loaded, and prepared for any engagement?"

Walking inside the school's halls were a pair of dark skinned huntsmen, coming from a dormitory deep within the third year hall. The older one was almost comically tall, and built like he had done nothing but train his entire life, which, to be perfectly fair, was a pretty apt description. His shoulder length hair was a fine silver, a side effect of his semblance despite his age, and a full beard graced his face. He was clad in what looked like a monk's garb, with simple pants and an opened robe exposing his abdomen. Beside him was a much shorter, albeit still tall younger man, with quite short crimson hair and eyes green as an emerald, clad in a jacket and pants the same burning shade as his hair. The younger man replied to his brother.

"Tahir, I cleaned it, I've cleaned it twice today alone. But do you seriously think that I'll get into a fight on my first day here? I mean, this is your third year, you should know the climate."

"I would be lying if I said I has expecting you to engage in combat this early, but it never hurts to be prepared."

"Easy for you to say, Mr. 'I can kill a Deathstalker with my bare hands'."

"All the more reason for you to maintain your weaponry, Jahim, considering you are dependant on it."

The younger boy sighed. "Well, whatever. Thanks for letting me bunk here this past year. The training's… helped, I think. I'll hopefully catch you around."

"Elements guide you, brother."

"Yeah, yeah. See ya."

The younger man continued onward, moving towards the halls. _I wonder if that was a little rude,_ he thought. _I kinda did try and brush him off. Ah well, I won't really be short on chances to apologize. Better just keep moving and worry when it's relevant._

He hoped he would run into his friends soon. It was getting kind of awkward roaming the school by himself. He begun an inventory check to ensure he hadn't forgotten anything.

 _Gun? Well, duh, it's on my back. It's all collapsed, so I'm not gonna bisect anyone if I turn too fast, so that's good. All my Dust cartridges? Well, I'm missing a Fire, but that's in the rifle, so that makes sense. Everything else is there, even the spare dust I owe Porfirio for Vacuo. Wait, dammit, my messages!_ He checked his scroll, finding no less than twenty messages from Porfirio, each containing progressively more and more offensive profanities as he advanced through them. This was all accompanied by a picture from Nero, of the entire gang(sans Alice, but he knew she was here.) on the airship, all looking great as ever. He smiled upon seeing the photo. _Glad everyone's safe. It's been a rough two years without 'em. It'll be good to see them again._

 _To see her again..._

His eye wandered to Amber on the photo. His mind instantly begun racing. Vacuo was not a good time for him. Not only was that when he had to get bailed out of the trouble he had gotten himself into, it had nearly resulted in his death. If Nero and the gang hadn't shown up, he most certainly would've died. What was worse was what had happened to Amber that day was his fault.

 _An entire year, forced to do what she was… and losing her memory to boot…_

Mrs. Xiao Long(the nice one, not the punchy one who disliked him, well, in general), had informed him over the phone that she remembered nothing. The only reason she knew he existed was that she was told. _Damn Tahir! If I was able to be there for her…_ Tahir had taken Jahim to Nikos Academy under the blessing of Headmaster Arc a something if a punishment for how be he had fucked up in Vacuo. A full two years of training with Tahir and his team had certainly honed his skill, and he had a direct line with both Professor Xiao Longs, and Alice was even at the school pretty often, considering she was, and had been since she was a kid, studying under Professor Oolong. Still, he hated every second he was away from his friends, forbidden from outside contact until fairly recently.

 _Oolong, 2 Xiao Longs, soon to be 4, plus the giant Wyvern that the stories say was in the mountain?_ Jahim thought, trying to distract himself. _What's up with this place and dragons?_

Jahim continued onward towards the gathering hall, chuckling at his own joke. Maybe if he was lucky, he'd bump into the gang along the way.


	4. Encounters and Reunions

Alice and Donovan had nearly made it to the hall when they heard a voice cry out from behind them.

"Oh, so _there_ you are, Butterfly. Was beginning to worry that sixth sense of yours gave out and you went sailing off the cliff back by the airdocks."

Donovan supposed this was going to be a running theme today.

Alice simply sighed in response. "Nero, which one of the people standing around here is Porfirio? Put him in front of me so I can shoot his kneecaps out."

The cat faunus raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright, jeez, no need to be so hostile."

The huntsman with the braid walked forward and high-fived Alice. "Just glad to see you made it okay, Al. I mean, I know you aren't _helpless_ , but-"

"Eh, it's a concern I doubt anyone's ever gonna shake. And to be fair, it's warranted somewhat. I am kinda a reckless asshole."

"Yeah, but you're _our_ reckless asshole. And if you got hurt we'd have to find another one, and those kinda people are hard to get to stick around, ya'know?" The energetic redhead replied.

"Anyway," said the braided man, apparently trying to shift the topic away from Alice dying, "who's this guy? Friend of yours?" He outstretched his hand. "The name's Nero. Good to meet you, friend."

"Donovan." He took the handshake. "You must be the Nero Rose Alice mentioned earlier. I look forward to conversing with you later. She tells me you have quite the tale."

"If you haven't heard it, you must not be from around here, are you?" Donovan shook his head. "Well great! Just roll with us, and we'll get you acquainted in no time. Here, you've already met Porfirio here," The mentioned huntsman waved in acknowledgement. "And this ball of energy is Sienna." Sienna jumped at the mention of her name. Nero leaned in for a whisper. "Yeah, she's always like that. Anyway, we got a couple other people coming in soon, so we'll meet up with them after the speech. C'mon, let's get seats!"

Most of the group ran ahead, but Donovan and Alice lagged behind. "So, thoughts?" Alice asked.

"They seem to certainly be… individuals. My time outside the kingdoms never lead me to any characters like them."

"Ah, well, they're pretty eccentric for their own reasons. Especially Sienna."

"I believe the term you city people use is 'the pot calling the kettle black'."

"Yeah, you've got a point. I do kinda stand out, don't I?"

"It's mostly the blindfold, really. Cybernetics are hardly a rarity anymore. Even some people in my tribe had replacement limbs. It's a blessing to live in this age." He paused, looking at her arms. "If it's not too personal, can I ask how-"

"Eh," Alice interrupted, "I have the boring story. I was born blind with no arms. Didn't let that stop me though, did I?" She smiled big, flexing her faux muscles to answer her own question before motioning for them to move. "C'mon, the good seats'll all be gone soon."

"For you, is that truly that important?" Donovan snickered.

Alice paused in her tracks. "Alright, that was pretty good" she said, snickering along with him. "I have a feeling this is gonna be a good 4 years."

* * *

As Jahim walked alone outside towards the meeting, he suddenly found himself stopped across from a pair of huntresses. One was wholly unfamiliar, a gargantuan woman with what appeared to be _wings_ sprouting from her back. The other, however, was who stopped him dead in his tracks. He hadn't seen her in an entire year, not since she… disappeared. Disappeared because of what he did.

He decided he wasn't so lucky after all.

"Amber? Amber Xiao Long?" He said to her.

"Oh, erm, yes, you're not mistaken" said the shorter girl, looking at the unfamiliar man. "I'm Amber Xiao Long. It's just… who are you? How do you know me?"

He sighed. This was what he had thought would happen. "It's me, Jahim. Do you… remember me?"

"Oh, oh my gosh! I'm sorry I… I know you. I should've recognized you by the hair. Porfirio said we were friends before, right?"

"Y-yeah. I can understand why you memories never rekindled. I was kinda, er, away the whole time when you got back, so those memories never got the chance to like, pop out or whatever." He managed to stammer out. He desperately wanted to change the subject. "That's a really big sword."

"Oh, yeah, this is what they trained me… her… with." She pulled the gargantuan blade off her back, a 7 foot slab of sharpened steel that looked like it belonged in a video game. Jahim thought about how heavy it must be, and wondered how on Remnant she was holding it so easily with one arm. He wagered he probably wouldn't be able to lift it at all. "The muscle memory stuck around for it, so I may as well put it to good use right? I mean, it is kinda my fault that-"

"Hey, wow, jeez, look at the time, let's hurry on over to the meeting, we'll be late!" practically shouted Jay, beckoning for them to move.

"We should probably get going, eh? Plenty of time to catch up later." Jahim said.

"Y-yeah," Amber replied, replacing the blade on her back. "Let's move out."

The three moved into the auditorium, finding their seats. Jahim couldn't pull his gaze up off the floor.

 _Yeah, good joke Amber, your fault. It's not like you're the one who fucked up and got you kidnapped and tortured for a whole year. My gut's fucking busting._

His hand clenched into a tight fist on his lap. Amber noticed, but said nothing. What room did she have to say anything? _It's not like he got turned into a human weapon,_ she thought. _Or killed over 3 dozen people. Or nearly killed his own brother._ It wasn't long until she found her own gaze locked with the concrete below her as well.

Jay, sitting between them, noticed the gazes of the people on her flanks, and opted to take action. She slapped the both of them on their backs, getting their attention.

"Hey nerds, the stage is up there, and I doubt the Headmaster gathered the next greatest band of huntsmen and huntresses in training for them to stare at their floor the whole time he's talkin'. Look alive, this could very well be the most important thing we hear for 4 years."

Seemingly drawn out of their respective funks, the two looked attentively at the stage. The murmurs around them seemed to indicate the Headmaster was appearing soon.


	5. Story Arc

"Oolong, is my tie on straight?"

"Yes, Headmaster. Not only is it still on straight, but had remained as such through the seventeen times you have asked me that question in about as many minutes." Oolong replied. "If you are nervous, Jaune, you do not have to dance around the statement like it is a combat scenario. It is perfectly natural to be nervous in the context of public speaking."

The Headmaster sighed in reply. It had been almost 6 years ago that Jaune Arc had assumed the role of Headmaster, after the passing of former Headmistress Goodwitch. He still felt out of place in the suit and tie garb the role demanded. Part of him yearned dearly to don his armour again and go hunting, but the several other parts that were aware of the monsters whose sole driving force is to eradicate all of mankind that filled the world made him… apprehensive. Plus, he kinda had a responsibility to all these kids, and going out and getting himself killed wasn't the best idea for fulfilling that. He was at least glad to have his friends nearby to help.

As if reading Jaune's thoughts, Head Combat Instruction Professor Xiao Long walked up to the pair, her golden hair shining bright as ever, and her smile even brighter. Using her freedom from the dress code as combat instructor to it's fullest extent, she was clad in form fitting clothing that would probably upset her wife, among other thoughts. She spoke up, apparently hearing Oolong's comment.

"Aw c'mon Wind-Up, Jaune never let nerves get to him before. He does his best work afraid for his life."

"Yang, so good of you to join us." Oolong replied, turning to face the woman. "Although, you know I have expressed my disdain for that nickname numerous times." Oolong was used to the name, being an A.I. housed in a heavily modified Atlesian Knight. He is only the second artificial human to be able to manifest an aura, but unlike the first, who his colleagues ask he not mention, he does not mask his true nature underneath synthetic flesh. "You, of all people, should understand that, should you not, Mrs. "Robo-Hand", as my pupil calls you."

Yang held her prosthetic arm up to inspect it. While the original was Atlesian engineering, her more recent models have been Oolong's work. She chuckled at his attempt at a joke. "Gotta _hand_ it to ya, that's a solid point." She waved her metallic appendage for emphasis. "Although, that's pretty rich, coming from your kid."

"C-can we please focus on this speech? This kinda has to go well, so if you two are done making fun of eachother, we should get out there and kinda, y'know, tell these kids what they're walking into?"

"Good call, boss." Yang replied. "My kids are out there. Wouldn't want the twins getting confused, would we?"

"I am looking at the school's repair budget for this year, and we do not look to have the appropriate amount of funds for a pair of confused Xiao Long children. Our budget barely covers the two fully grown ones we have. Although…" Oolong paused, looking at Yang. "One of them does constitute for more of the cost."

"Hey, I'm not responsible for what Blake does after a few cocktails." Yang said, smirking as hard as she could.

"Not only are you pretty explicitly responsible for that scenario, but that was one of your weaker deflections, and that is a remarkable notion given your track record with such affairs." Oolong snarked back, before turning to the Headmaster. "You are going to be fine, Jaune. Relaxation is the key."

"Also, the reason I came is 'cause it's kinda time for us to go out there, so you're gonna have to get it together, or else I'm gonna have to do it, and I'm pretty sure Oolong would have an aneurysm, err, blue screen?"

"Okay, okay, okay, I'm gonna go out there. There's a whole new generation of hunters out there ready for their dive into our world, and it's my job to welcome them, right?"

"You're just psyching yourself out. Get out there and deliver that shit, Jaunny."

Jaune grinned and sighed before composing himself and walking onto the stage. Oolong and Yang followed him out, and flanked him, as he prepared for the speech to be given. The crowd of about 300 was restless, as they always were. Yang managed to pick out Amber's bright hair, as well as the rest of the kids sitting around Sienna's fiery curls. Oolong saw his handiwork shining with reflected light, attached to Alice seated nearby Yang's son. Jaune noticed no one in particular, trying as hard as he could not to keel over from nerves, as he did every year.

*****  
As Jaune, Yang, and Oolong took the stage, the group by Nero reacted accordingly, with Sienna waving to them as soon as she noticed them, and the others smiling at their elders. Sienna spoke up, excited about the coming speech.

"Oh man, this is gonna be so great! We've been training under Aunt Yang and Aunt Blake for years now, and now we get to add in Oolong! Think of all the new robo-techniques we're gonna learn!"

Alice chimed in at the mention of her teacher. "You know, I'm pretty sure that that's not how it works, Sienna. Oolong and I both use techniques you kinda don't teach."

"Well, how _does_ it work then?"

"Well, we don't have muscles to develop muscle memory, so we have to update the firmware in our limbs, and then-"

"You may as well stop, Alice" Donovan interjected. "She stopped paying attention at around the fifth word."

Alice turned to her friend to find her gaze was fixed on Oolong. She guessed that she got tired of waiting for a response and was staring at Oolong trying to figure it out herself. Her theory was more than likely going to be worth the wait, so she decided not to make a fuss.

"Hey gang, quiet down. Looks like he's starting" Nero pointed out.

Sure enough, Headmaster Arc had reached the microphone, and begun his speech.

"Y'know, the introduction speech my first year kinda wasn't the best. Not to disrespect Professor Ozpin or anything, but he sorta just walked up and said words of, well, _dis_ couragement. There was a weird air to it all, it was kinda like he wasn't even there. So, I'm gonna attempt to, well, not do that, and at the very least give you guys someone to joke about tonight when you're trying to sleep."

There was a slight raising of laughter from the crowd.

"Well, as I'm sure many of you know already, I'm Jaune Arc, Headmaster of Nikos Academy, as well as the only person to successfully lie their way into a combat academy." More laughter emerged. "Hey, just because I pulled it off doesn't mean anyone here did. That's the best reason to put a former student in charge of the place. I already know all the tricks. And so does everyone else, so don't try 'em. Or, uh, at the very least, make new ones. Ah, I'm rambling again, aren't I?

"Well, my best friend asked me a question right before the Fall 24 years ago. She asked me 'Do you believe in destiny?'" Donovan scoffed from the crowd. "Well, at the time, it was kinda a hard discussion. She… wasn't in a good spot mentally. What she meant by destiny was not some divine plan that is always in motion, but a, like, goal, something to work towards. She believed in it, and I think at the time I did too, it's just I wasn't sure what she meant, all my answer really did was confuse her, and, uh, get me lodged in the side of the building. She believed her destiny was to save the world, and who could blame her? She was the strongest, the fastest, the most skilled warrior anyone had seen. It was being made so abundantly clear she was destined to save the world, I doubt anyone would've argued with her. And nobody did. Her role in stopping the Fall was instrumental, and there's a reason the ground you're all sitting on is named for her."

The laughter had completely died out at this point, and a chilling silence filled the air.

"But, the point was that she believed that she was destined to be a huntress. That she was destined to save the world. And all of you are here for that same reason; to become huntsmen and huntresses, and help defend the world. Now, er, I know the world doesn't really need saving right now, and hopefully never again, but it never hurts to be prepared, right?" The laughter returned, making Jaune breathe a sigh of relief. He even heard a chuckle from his right, though when he turned she was composed as ever. "Anyway, that mission begins tomorrow, with Initiation. Your combat instructors here, Professors Oolong and Xiao Long, will brief you on it. Until tomorrow, I bid you farewell, my students of the new year." He backed up, bowed shortly, and exited stage left to thunderous applause before collapsing face down on a nearby bench backstage, exhausted. The two remaining on stage stepped up to the microphone to speak on Initiation.

"Alrighty gang, listen up!" shouted the fiery blonde, immediately gathering everyone's attention. "My name is Head Combat Instructor Xiao Long, though you'll see me in your schedules as Xiao Long-Y. Mrs. Xiao Long-B is my lovely wife, who teaches History."

"And I," said the Atlesian Knight in a suit standing next to her, "am Professor Oolong, and I am your Combat Technique and Philosophy teacher." He noticed murmurs about him in the crowd almost immediately, as per usual. "And yes, I am a robot. Let us move past that, shall we?"

"Yep! So, as you all heard, Initiation is tomorrow, and while I'd love to spoil it for you all, I really can't do that just yet. Just know that Teams and Partners will be assigned tomorrow, so you'd all better be there."

"Indeed. There is no make-up for Initiation, so not attending is equivalent to a drop out notice. You will then be summarily removed from campus, and we shall continue without you."

"No need to be so harsh, Oolong. Anyway, we don't have bunks for you all yet, so you're gonna have to grab sleeping bags and stay in the grand hall tonight. Some TAs will be out here soon to give you info on that."

"With that, we must depart and prepare for tomorrow."

"Yep! Don't forget, 8:00 sharp at the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest. Be there or be square! And by square I mean sent home. Bye!"

The two instructors walked off stage, and as if on cue a handful of TAs wheeled in pallets of sleeping bags for the kids to use. People began standing up and making their way over there, the hall becoming a congested flesh pile before long. Nero and company decided to hang back and wait out the crowd, hopefully attracting the attention of the others in doing so. Meanwhile, Amber, Jay, and Jahim were shuffling slowly forward, relying on Jay's solid foot of height advantage over everyone else there to see how much longer it'd be before they had what they needed. They wagered that, at this pace, they'd get their bedrolls in a few days, if they were lucky.


	6. The Last Night

By the time the congested grand hall was properly organized for nighttime, with boys and girls on opposite sides of the room(for obvious reasons), and everyone and everything was in its proper place, it was already dusk. To prevent people from getting lost on the expansive campus in the dark on their first night, the entire new student population was kept in the hall from now until morning. It was a holdover from the old ways of doing things, much like the rest of initiation, but it was one that worked, and without fail; the students never seemed to be driven to break these codes of conduct, more than likely due to the knowledge of who was enforcing them.

Once everyone was able to get their bedrolls and sorted their supplies, the group had already been split by gender before a proper reunion could take place. This lead to each group of 4 sticking together within their halves, and each acquainting their respective newcomer to the group with the remainder.

Jahim was apprehensive as he broke off from Jay and Amber, and walked towards Nero. Their recent discussions resulted in the revelation that both Nero, and, more surprisingly, Porfirio, held no vendetta for Vacuo, and what had happened to Amber. At least, they didn't hold one with him; Nero had spoken on Porfirio's growing folders of schemes to take down the group responsible. However, just because they voiced that over calls or messages didn't mean they truly felt that way. This made Nero's bear hug upon seeing him, before either had spoken even a word, quite a surprise.

"There you are, you giant! It's been ages man!"

"Y-yeah, it has, hasn't it? Can you, uh, maybe set me back down?"

"Oh, yeah." Nero released Jahim, who landed back on his feet, rubbing the side of his arm. "Sorry 'bout that, got kinda excited."

"No prob' man. It has been way too long."

"Mhm. Now the whole gang's back together. C'mon, Porfirio and Don are this way!" Nero shouted, gesturing for Jahim to follow.

Nero led Jahim through the forest of huntsmen, to a patch where the two faunus in question were already deep into a conversation, seated on their respective bedrolls.

"I just don't see how you can _possibly_ keep that physique up on a vegetarian diet. How are you even able to build muscle mass without protein and other shit in meats?" Porfirio asked.

"Well, I'd wager the answer to that lies in faunus morphology. Different types of faunus have different traits."

"Yeah, I've got night vision, my sister has really good hearing, and you get shredded from eating grass. Gotcha."

"Well," Nero interjected, "Don _is_ right here, with the whole faunus traits deal."

"Nero, c'mon, back me up here! _That_ ," Porfirio said, gesturing wildly at Donovan's now exposed, and quite well defined, arms and shoulders, "does not happen as a result of kale."

"Hey, I eat stuff like nuts and beans too. Those have plenty of proteins in them." Donovan fired back.

"Sure thing. I just know that at some point I'm gonna catch you stuffing ground beef down your throat in secret." Porfirio noticed Donovan's eyes narrow. "Alright, yeah, that was a bad example meat wasn't it?"

"Heh, it's whatever" Donovan said, aiming to change the subject. He turned to the newcomer. "You must be Jahim Farid. I heard quite a bit about your older brother when I arrived in Vale. Do you two fight similarly?"

Jahim chuckled, taking a seat. "Not even close. I intentionally designed my style to be as far apart from Tahir's as I could. I knew I'd never be as good as him at what he does, so branching out gave me the best chance at surpassing him."

"A lofty goal, if what I heard is to be beli-"

"Oh shit, Jahim! I had no idea you were over here!" Porfirio shouted, apparently dropping the argument. He raised his hand in expectation of a high-five, and Jahim hesitantly reciprocated. Jahim smiled. "You look a little troubled bro. Somethin' up?" Porfirio asked.

"No, not really. I was kinda just nervous you guys would still be upset."

"What? Why would we be? Didn't we say we didn't blame you?" Nero asked.

"Yeah, plus Mom taught me a thing or two about grudges. Never good to keep 'em around."

"Porfirio, you have legitimately an entire cabinet of revenge schemes back in Patch" Nero commented.

Porfirio merely smirked and shrugged. "I never said I was a good listener."

Jahim begun to laugh. "I'm glad nothing's changed around here."

"Yeah. Though I finally have a sparring partner that actually puts up a fight now. Silver linings 'n shit I guess."

"That does remind me, P, here ya go." Jahim tossed a large vial of blue Dust to Porfirio, who caught it. In his grasp, the blue Dust quickly turned a deep purple. "For Vacuo."

"Whoa, what the heck was that? It turned purple?" Donovan asked, confused out of his mind.

"Oh yeah, you don't know. My semblance turns any Dust I get too close to into my Royal Purple blend. It only responds to my aura, though, and it does some badass shit."

"Such as?"

"Fire, gravity manipulation, short range teleportation, and some other stuff that's secret. It's only while I have the stuff though, and it burns up quick with the fancy shit. It's kinda my whole gameplan."

"Still, that's completely insane. You could even do stuff like jam a foe's weapon by changing the Dust in their rounds."

"Yeah, once it goes purple, it doesn't go back, so that's a decent strategy. It's boring though. Takes the fun outta the fight. No point in fighting someone who can't fight back. Like, if I jam Jahim's rifle, he's toast."

"Yeah, about that," Jahim said, before grabbing his rifle off his back. He pressed a switch on the side, and the gun unfolded to its full length, as well as revealing the gleaming sword blade that lied underneath the barrel. "I made some modifications over those past two years, and did a bit more training. Say hello to my new pride and joy, The Devil's Templar."

Nero immediately seemed to zoom over to the weapon, examining every inch of it. "Where does the magazine go in?"

"It doesn't run on magazines. It takes pure crystals. You think I was wearing these anti-reactionary gloves for fashion's sake?" Jahim said, waggling his fingers for emphasis.

" _Badass_. Does it retract into a sword form?"

Porfirio turned to Donovan, apparently bored of Nero's nerding out. "What do you think the girls are talking about?"

"Judging by the ones I've met so far? I haven't the faintest idea."

Further in the hall on the opposite side of the room, the constant chatter and murmurs of the clumped crowd drowned out the strained shout of Sienna Ren as her arm impacted with the ground, forced into submission by Jay's superior strength. Sienna rolled onto her back, groaning in both pain and disappointment. Jay stood up, flexing in celebration.

"Booyah! Told you I benched bigger mountains, kitty cat."

"One day, I'll find a euphemism you people won't attempt to literalize." Amber said, chuckling. "One day…"

"Y'know," Alice commented, noticing Jay rise to her gargantuan full height. "I didn't realize until just now just how big you are. Like, _fuck_."

"Yeah, I'm pretty… wait, how can you tell, aren't you… y'know, blind?"

Alice suddenly begun to laugh in response, doubling over and falling onto Sienna, prompting another groan out of the girl. She managed to compose herself, and sat back up, looking towards the confused woman whilst wiping tears away that had made it past her blindfold.

"Heh, sorry, I completely forgot you didn't know, to be honest. I tend to do that when I'm getting to know someone." The vague response only prompted further confusion, and it wasn't long until Alice began laughing again.

"To explain, since she's too busy making fun of you," Amber started, "Alice's semblance makes her aura radiate outward. When it touches something, it returns, and feeds those signals to her brain through the unused channels her eyes would have used. It works kinda like echolocation."

"Yeah, though I only get what have been described to me as 'silhouettes' of stuff." Alice managed to get out as she regained her breath. "Nothing's detailed at all, so I have no idea what you look like Jay. I just know that you're a bigass bird girl."

"Well, that _is_ a pretty good summary. I'll give it a 7 outta 10. Shame you'll never get to see this gorgeous face though." Jay said, winking.

"I dunno. Sienna, summary?"

The redhead suddenly bolted upright, her gaze fixed on Jay. "She's actually pretty nice looking, though she's totally covered in scars. Like, _everywhere_."

"Hey!" Jay shouted angrily. "Don't, uh…" she leaned over and whispered to Amber. "Amber, what's the lesbian version of cock-block?"

"Why the _fuck_ would I know that?" she angrily replied, still at a whisper but a tad bit louder.

"I dunno, you're the smart one!"

"Well, they don't teach you slang when you're busy _waging war for a terrorist organization!_ "

The whispered argument continued, concealed behind Amber's hand, for several minutes. Alice turned to Sienna.

"How long until they remember I have really good hearing and can tell what they're saying?"

"How long until they realize they're not really whisperin' and everyone can hear it?"

The two girls fell into quiet laughter, not wanting to disturb what would easily be excellent blackmail fuel from developing.

"So boss, got your eyes on anyone specific yet?" Yang asked.

Yang and Oolong had helped Jaune back to his office, and he now sat at his desk, looking over files of the new freshmen, Yang standing opposite him.

"Well, obviously the kids. I know they're all gonna do well. Especially yours, Yang. Though, I am still kinda worried-"

"C'mon, it's fine, Jaune. She hasn't had any relapses since last winter. She's too strong to do that here."

"Well, uh…" Jaune said, aiming to change the subject. "There's also those three you guys found this year."

"I wouldn't say Oolong 'found' Tuyet, more like raised the girl."

"Well, she's damn good either way. Her reputation's no joke."

"There's also Jay," Yang said, thinking back to Vacuo. "I really like her."

"You're kinda biased there."

"You'd be biased too if she saved your kid from a lifetime of slavery."

"Well, that aside, she's definitely something interesting. We've never seen anyone quite like her before. I have high hopes. I mean, the last time we let in a barehanded fighter he ended up being our best student."

"Speaking of, what about his little bro?"

Jaune paused briefly, seemingly apprehensive about talking on him. "Jahim's got a few issues…"

"Tell me about it" Yang scoffed.

"Well, he's certainly capable. He's just gotta get past his own issues first."

"Hey, that sounds familiar." Yang said, smirking at the Headmaster

"I _will_ fire you, Xiao Long."

"Hey, hey, alright. What about the last one? The one Ruby found?"

"Donovan Stormbringer? Have you seen him in action yet?"

"Nope. He any good?"

"I'm gonna keep it a secret. I have a feeling you'll be interested come tomorrow."

"You're an asshole, Arc." she sighed. "How is she, by the way? She report back yet?"

"I got one earlier today, actually. She's still at the estate taking care of Weiss and Echo. She sent a photo too, here" he said, spinning the monitor around so Yang could see. Her response was immediate.

"Finally, about damn time I saw my new niece. Whoa, I can see where she got the name. She looks just like Ruby did. She even has her…" Yang's eyes suddenly went wide. " _oh_."

"At least we'll get more consistent reports from her now" he said, turning the monitor back and returning to the records. "I swear she's worse than Qrow was."

Yang was still unsure how to respond. "I'm gonna go call her. Night, boss."

"Night Yang. Try not to freak out too much, okay? I kinda need the repair budget to stretch through the semester."

Jaune was merely responded to by an extended middle finger from Yang as she boarded the elevator and descended to her quarters. Jaune leaned back and sighed. He stared at the file on his monitor. Nero Rose, he thought, thinking back to Ruby's report. You've really got your work cut out for you, huh?

He pulled the report up again.

 _Jaune,_

 _I hope everything went smoothly for the first day! Sorry I haven't been reporting in too often, I've been kinda busy with the new kid and all that. Weiss is doing great, Echo went way easier than Nero did. She's perfectly healthy, but there's a handful of other… problems that are in the picture I sent. I'll be staying at the Rose Compound for at the very least the first couple months. I just really don't want what happened last time to happen again. Especially considering the problems. I'll try my hardest to be there by the second semester._

 _Make sure to show my sister and Blake the picture too. They deserve to know. Plus, Yang's kinda been blowing up our phones, and Weiss is getting grumpy about it. Well, grumpier, but still._

 _I'll be back there as soon as I can. I know it's dumb, but I know you guys can handle it._

 _Love,  
Ruby_

 _Jeez_ , Jaune thought, _you'd think 2 kids and saving the world would change her at least a little_. Jaune liked to joke that he was the only one that had even changed at all after the Fall, and that everyone else was still back at Beacon, in the old days. He knew he was wrong, and that everyone grew and changed, but Ruby's attitude was unfaltering and hopeful as ever. He wondered if anything would ever be able to change that.

He desperately hoped the answer was no.


	7. Gathering Wisdom

The sun hung high in the sky as the time on Headmaster Jaune's wristwatch ticked over to 8 A.M., signaling an alarm that was quickly silenced. He took a look at the cliff before him as the time for Initiation rolled in. The entire entering freshman class was before him, lined up on panels situated on the cliff overlooking the looming Emerald Forest. He was glad to see there were no deserters this year, that always made things go smoother. He looked briefly behind him before turning to face his students.

"Well, it's finally time to begin your Initiation. This is actually the same thing I went through, so you know this works, right?" There was a rise of laughter again. "Well, here's the idea. Somewhere in the forest, I've placed a collection of relics. You are to find this gathering, as well as a partner along the way, and bring a relic back here before nightfall. Now, there are Grimm out there, and we are not going to step in no matter what. So, please, don't treat this as a joke, or you could seriously die." The sudden silence was deafening. "Now, we're not assigning your partners. That's for you to do. While in the Forest, the first person you make eye contact with is gonna be your partner your entire time at this school. So, try to avoid the gaze of people you hate." He walked to the end of the line, and moved to begin before snapping back to the group. "Oh and one other thing; I'd think of a landing strategy. I didn't, and it, uh, didn't go so well for me. With that, let's begin!" He said, touching a button on his scroll.

Alice, standing at the end of an 8 person line of the group, turned to the next in line, being Jay, with a concerned look on her face. "Landing strategy? What does he mean by that?"

The sound of a released catch and a huntsman soaring in the air answered her question.

"Erm, how high did he fly? I lost gaze on him after awhile." Alice asked, growing even paler than usual.

"It looked around, eh, 100 feet in the air, but he went really fuckin' far."

"Oh shit." Alice was white as her cloak at this point. She desperately needed a distraction. "Wait, do you even have a weapon Jay?" she asked, noticing the line had nearly reached them, and Jay's were among the only hands that were empty. The only thing she noticed was different was what looked like a backpack on her back, situated between her wings.

"Something like that" she replied, with a smirk she forgot Alice couldn't see. She was then catapulted into the air, and in mid-flight, extended her arms and legs out in a T pose.

Suddenly the backpack on Jay's back begun to expand and unfold as she flew. Metal began to envelop her body, until her entire form was clad in an armoured suit the colour of her wings. "Transcendance, online!" she shouted, and with a flourish of Air Dust, shot further into the air.

"I didn't see that. I'm gonna assume it looked badass." Alice said, noticing the person next to her nodding in agreement before everything became consumed in a giant blur, her semblance not able to keep up with the intense acceleration of the catapult's force.

Far above, Jay saw Alice flying forward into the treeline. _Well, she doesn't have the best form, but… oh fuck she can't fucking see._ She immediately went into the steepest dive she could. _They really didn't think this through._

Alice held to what she thought was a decent flying pose as she sailed blindly through the air. _Well, I have no idea where I'm gonna land. I'm gonna hit the treeline and die._ She braced herself for the collision, and subsequent intense pain. She had convinced herself of her coming demise so succinctly that the abrupt appearance of a shape she could make out with her semblance, and rapid deceleration to a stop on the forest floor surprised her. Who or whatever saved her let go, and she took a minute to gather herself before speaking.

"I'm a little dizzy right now, but I'm gonna hazard a guess and say that's you, Jay. Thanks, thanks for that. Fuck, I need a minute."

"Yeah, it's me" Jay replied. "I kinda remembered halfway through you flying that you couldn't see, and rather than watch such a pretty face get gored on trees, I decided having you as my partner wouldn't be so bad."

"Well, we technically didn't make eye contact," Alice said, taking a seat on a nearby stump, "because you can't see my eyes, but I think it count-"

Alice was abruptly cut off by her own gunshot, having quickly drawn and fired one in Jay's direction almost faster than Jay could notice. Jay turned around to watch a Beowolf with a large amount of its head missing crumple a ways behind her.

"How the-"

"I don't see with my eyes, remember? I feel these things coming from everywhere, kinda like what has been described to me as a 'radar'." The sound of rustling quickly made itself apparent. "On the subject of these things, we'd better move" Alice said, standing and drawing another gun in her other hand.

"Yeah, let's keep heading in the direction we were sailing." Jay said, beginning to walk in that direction.

"What, we're not flying?"

"Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but you're kinda heavy."

"Man, it's almost like I have around 200 pounds of metal either strapped or surgically attached to my body." Alice replied sarcastically. "Aren't you supposed to be strong?"

"Arms? Yes. Wings? These things barely keep me in the air. There's not a lot of muscle in 'em to build up, y'know."

"Noted: in case of emergency, your wings are suboptimal to fry and batter in buffalo sauce."

Jay's laughter was immediate."Okay, that was pretty good. Fuck, I wonder what I would taste like. Like, I've had cooked crows. Would it be like that?"

"What does that even taste like? Is it like chicken, or…"

"Poverty and shame, mostly."

Another gunshot, seeming aimed into the middle of nowhere, resulted in a Beowolf falling out of a tree around 20 feet in front of them.

"Okay, that shit is cheating. I even got all dolled up in my suit and you're taking all the kills."

"Well, that one had a friend. There's another one in that tree over there. Lemme bait it out for you."

Before Jay could respond, Alice fired another shot, this time intentionally missing the target. The Beowolf jumped from the tree it was residing in, and begun running towards them before leaping, claws and fangs first, at the two. Jay responded by meeting it in the air, knocking it backward with a flying knee as her facemask snapped into place, it being a polarized visor with a bird's skull hand-carved into the glass's polarized layer. When the beast recovered, Jay stopped its second charge with a kick to the stomach, causing the beast to double over. Jay then brought her elbow down and her knee up, and crushed the Grimm's head in the vice the two created. The rest of the creature fell to the ground dead, and Jay turned to her new partner.

"How was that, Ms. Radar?" she said through her helmet. Her voice was filtered, and sounded much more like a man's than her own.

"Uh," Alice said, confused by the filtering, "I'm gonna guess that's still you, and we weren't joined by a man with a gruff cybernetic voice. What's up with that filter?"

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, shoulda thought that'd be weird." She disengaged her helmet. "It's a long story. I'll tell it to ya some time."

"Right," Alice said, before returning to the question."Well, your technique seemed inefficient against something so small. You're probably used to fighting bigger game."

"For someone so full of shit, you're awfully analytical about killing things."

"Not my fault that I'm actually incapable of inefficient combat." She fired another round behind her over her shoulder, and another Beowolf corpse tumbled past them, having been killed mid-leap. "We'd better keep moving, if we're gonna find these relics."

Jay scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. I'm sure it's this way."

Earlier, even before Jay was launched, The trigger underneath Jahim's platform triggered, sending the boy soaring through the air. He kept his body straight, ensuring a higher peak while he scanned the forest in front of him. As his descent begun, he drew his rifle, loading an Ice crystal into the open chamber before closing it. His first shot cleared the trees in the area he was to land, to ensure that his landing strategy could pan out. He re-primed the rifle for a second shot. _Well, either this works or I break both my legs,_ he thought, as he fired another shot, this time the Ice dust manifesting into a ramp that smoothly slid onto the ground. He met it at full speed, and slid along it until grinding to a stop on the ground. _Hell yes! Top that, people!_

Jahim looked up just in time to see Jay become enveloped in her suit and soar heavensward, after which he disheartenedly switched his rifle into blade forme and cut down a nearby tree as he continued onward. _I can never win, man._

The rustling of the tree's fall had apparently attracted guests, as a pair of Beowolves dove from the trees at Jahim. The first was intercepted in flight, the strike from The Devil's Templar bisecting the beast and sending each half soaring past opposite sides of Jahim. Not wanting to further tarnish his attire, Jahim returned to rifle mode, quickly loading a Fire crystal in the process, and obliterated the second with a point-blank shot that echoed through the woods. _Fuck, Fire shots are always so damn loud. I hope that doesn't-_

Jahim's thoughts were cut off by an Ursa tearing its way through some nearby trees before standing on its hind legs and roaring at Jahim.

 _-attract more._

Jahim readied his rifle, the sight trained firmly on the beast's head. He knew that Ursa were quite a bit tougher than mere Beowolves, and that the second shot from this crystal wouldn't put it down. He knew he could take it, it would just be a bit of work, and a little bit of luck.

The Ursa roared again, and begun a lunge at Jahim. However, just as Jahim prepared to take a shot, another Ursa jumped from the foliage and intercepted the one charging at him. This one was far larger, and was absolutely covered in spines and bone armour. The larger Ursa bit through the throat of the smaller one, tearing its head completely off and tossing it aside. It then turned to face Jahim. He was then filled with immediate confusion; he had never seen a Grimm with brown markings before. All the standard lines on the bone 'mask' that were usually a bright red were a deep brown. More unnerving still were that even the eyes were this same murky shade, and they were looking right at him. Jahim readied himself yet again, knowing this was going to be even harder. _Okay, I can maybe get a kink into his plates with the shot, then it's all bladework from there. You can handle this. Just focus._

The beast began to move towards him, but the shout that came forth surprised Jahim, for it wasn't his own nor the Ursa's roar.

"Tania, stop!" a familiar voice cried. Suddenly, Donovan walked through the path cleared by the larger Ursa in the trees. He held two spears, one in each hand, though the staff attached to the one in his right hand was significantly longer. He turned, and made eye contact with Jahim. "He's a friend."

The Ursa stopped, and walked over to Donovan. He replaced the spear in his left hand onto his back before patting the beast's head when it reached him. "Don't worry. Tania isn't going to hurt you."

"Tania?" Jahim yelled in confusion. "What is going on here?"

"I guess it's my turn to explain things, huh?"

"Yeah, I'd reckon so, considering you appear to have tamed a fucking Ursa Major!"

"C'mon, I'll explain as we walk. Tania, follow me."

Jahim and Donovan walked along the forest, the presence of the large Grimm warding off the smaller varieties they walked past.

"So why exactly is 'Tania' not trying to tear us to pieces right now?"

"It's my semblance, and why I left my home. I can quell the anger in a Grimm, quiet the burning rage instilled in it. In return, they often follow me, and treat me as if I'm the master they've been freed from. It drains me quite a bit though. I can't really do it more than once in rapid-fire."

"What does that have to do with your home though?"

"My tribe, the Stormbringers, was and all Faunus nomad tribe lead by successive Chieftains. We followed what we called the Beastmasters, those that seemed to commune with the creatures of Grimm, silencing their fury and making them into family. I was born of the former Chieftain, and when my semblance awoke, I was given the ceremonial name Donovan, and groomed for leadership."

"You were gonna be leader? Then why leave?"

"When hunting one day, the band I lead came across a small camp of Humans exploring the mountains we lived in. They wished for directions to a part of the mountain that had once been a human settlement, but was long ago abandoned. I traded them the information in exchange for a tale of their people."

"That's kinda odd. Why not ask for supplies or something?"

"We already had plenty of that. What we didn't have was knowledge on the kingdoms. They told me of Vale, and of the heroes called Huntsmen and Huntresses that fought to protect those in danger. I learned that the Grimm I could quell and tame were a bigger blight to those inside the walls than we had thought. I went back to the Chieftain, my father, and asked of these things. When he talked, he spat with anger at the fact that I talked to humans. He called you lesser beings, that did nothing but hate our kind. I spoke against his words, and said that those I encountered spoke nothing of the sort. They spoke of heroes who defended them from the menace that we have the power to stop. I told him that we should tell them of our ability, and help them. He immediately sent me away. That night, I made the decision to see what your society was like for myself, and just left. I arrived in Vale after some adventures in the wilderness, and grew used to your culture before being offered a spot here at this academy."

"Wait, how did you even get in? You didn't go to a combat school, I'd bet."

"Well, the letter I received said something about 'personal recommendation by a significant persons' or some official statement like that."

"It must've been someone important for Headmaster Arc to just let you in."

"I'll bet."

Jahim once again looked at Tania, full of apprehension and nerves. The Grimm was completely peaceful, something he had never seen before. He was unnerved by the presence of the beast alone, and the fear begun to get to him again.

"Are… are you sure we can trust that thing Donovan?"

"Jahim, the creatures of Grimm are the only things I trust."

Jahim was completely confused. "Why?"

"Because," he replied, looking at Tania. "We haven't taught them to lie yet."


	8. Stocking Up

Earlier, before Jay and Alice launched into the woods, Porfirio, who was standing at the head of the line of the group, was sent hurtling into the green expanse of the Emerald Forest. As he soared, he flicked his wrists, and the bracelets around them suddenly flared with brilliant violet fire, engulfing the entirety of both his arms. He gathered a large amount between his hands before lobbing it along his flight path, clearing a large opening. He landed with a crash, extinguishing his arms before beginning to run forward, into the woods. The appearance of an Ursa stopped his progress, towering over him and roaring at his presence. Porfirio merely smirked at the beast.

"I would _not_ wanna be you today!" he shouted, before leaping into the air to dodge the creature's initial swipe. He spun while airborne, before igniting the anklet around his left leg as he extended it, bringing the limb down in a harsh kick to the Ursa's head. This flattened the beast, carrying its entire body down with Porfirio as he landed. He then slipped the burning foot underneath the beast's chin, performing a backflip kick, completely obliterating the weakened skull of the beast, the rest of the corpse falling to the ground and fading away. Porfirio put out his leg before turning to meet another Ursa, this one far smaller. Porfirio laughed at the creature. "Did I kill your papa, little one? It's alright, everyone gets a turn!" he said. Before he could move in to attack, a hook on a chain flew out of the woods, wrapping around the Ursa and dragging it into the treeline. Porfirio moved to see where it was headed. At the other end of the chain was Sienna, the compact motor on the back of her dress winding the chained Grimm towards her. She pulled her large bat off her back, and readied herself. Right as the Ursa reached her, she pressed a trigger on the handle, and a shotgun blast rocketed the bat forward along her swing arc, knocking the beast free of the hook's grasp as it finished winding back up and soaring into the air. She spun the bat around in her grasp, and it morphed into a pump-action shotgun as it rotated. She promptly re-primed the gun before shooting the Grimm out of the air, the buckshot annihilating a majority of the Ursa's upper body.

"Yeah! Hook, Line, and Sinker! Oh, hey P! How're you doin'?" Sienna shouted giddily before zooming over to the faunus.

Porfirio groaned at his new partner's pun. "You have _got_ to stop talking to my mom."

"Heh, sorry," she said, before immediately snapping to another topic. "Looks like we're partners, huh? Sorry, I'm sure you wanted to-"

"Relax, Sienna, relax. Don't get too wound up. And it's fine, Amber can handle herself plenty well." He smiled at the shorter girl. "C'mon, the relic's gotta be this way."

"Kay!"

"Oh, and Sienna, please don't take my kills again. Kinda made a bet with Donnie earlier."

"Heh, alright. You're better at killin' 'em anyway."

"Damn straight!" Porfirio said as his flame-engulfed fist went messily through the head of a Beowolf that had leapt at them from the treeline. "C'mon, let's get moving."

Nero was launched shortly after Porfirio, and in midair, drew his shortsword in his left hand, and his concussion gun in his right. As he reached the treeline, he ground the blade into a nearby tree, decelerating him to the point where his landing was smooth and flawless. He flipped the blade into his standard reverse grip, and flipped his headset onto his head. Holstering his gun, he started a playlist entitled _Kinetic_ before running full tilt into the forest. He kept the volume low enough to still faintly hear his surroundings, the reasoning for this making itself apparent as he was forced to come to a stop as a pair of Beowolves dove at him from the brush. He sidestepped the first, and caught the second's maw with his blade. He pressed a trigger on the blade, unlocking its position along the track built into its circular guard, and quickly flipped around to the back of the beast with the blade still in it's mouth. He fired his concussion gun into the back of the beast's head, the force of the wave throwing the monster's head the rest of the way through his sword. The second wolf charged, and Nero ducked, firing another blast upward to suspend the beast temporarily, before spinning his blade rapidly and using the momentum to lop off its head.

After picking himself off of the ground, Nero heard further rustling to his left. When he gazed through the gap in the foliage, he did indeed see further Grimm in the clearing. However it was what else he saw that surprised him more. By no means was an Ursa Major an easy bounty, and Nero wasn't even aware they lurked in the Emerald Forest. However, the seven feet of sharpened steel being pulled out of it's bisected corpse, and the several other fading and similarly mutilated corpses seemed to disagree with Nero's earlier notion. The blade was hoisted to rest on a brass shoulder plate, and golden feline ears twitched in response to stimuli. The armoured faunus sighed before making a motion to follow towards where Nero was lurking.

"Nero, get out of the damn brush. And turn that shit down, it's bad for your hearing."

Nero waded his way out of the opening, making brief eye contact with Amber as he pulled his headset off his ears. "I happen to have it at around 25% right now. Maybe your ears are just too good, Am."

Amber chuckled in response. "Maybe, maybe. I _do_ have 4 of them after all."

The two laughed heartily before Amber made the same motion to follow from earlier. "C'mon. I don't wanna be the last person there."

"You even know where we're going?"

"No, but I figure if we wander around, eventually we'll find a corpse trail that'll lead us in the right direction."

Nero flinched at the morbidity of the statement. "Y'know, sometimes I forget you were a terrorist."

Amber merely chuckled again. "You'll have to tell me how to do that sometime."

Standing in a clearing far from the launch point was a ruined building, circular in nature, with a plethora of 'relics', which were merely 2 complete chess piece sets, scattered about it's base. When Jay and Alice broke the treeline, they immediately rushed for the structure and scanned the objects placed there.

"You sure this is what we're here for?" Jay asked, puzzled by the presence of chess pieces in the woods. "I mean, chess is _old_ , but it's not like it's ancient history or something. Hardly constitutes as relic status."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Alice said, pondering over the selection of 'relics' before them. "Yang told me about her initiation a few months back. They had chess pieces as well. I'd bet my legs that these are what we're looking for."

"Well, we're taking the Black Queen then." Jay said, plucking it from it's place.

Alice giggled at her partner's choice. "Why specifically that one?"

"'Cause the Queen's the best piece! Plus, I'm quite fond of the colour black."

"I'd make a comment about how I'm dressed in all white, but because I don't actually know what that is, I'm just gonna roll with your pick."

Jay laughed, but then immediately snapped her attention to the sound of rustling at the treeline. What worried her was that Alice was _not_ doing the same. _Does she not hear it?_ Jay thought, preparing for combat. She was instead surprised to see a pair of swordsmen, well, a swordsman and woman, emerging from the brush.

"See Nero? I told you I'd find it."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. All it took was actual war theory."

"Actual war theory that _worked_." Amber turned her head to the ruined building, seeing Alice and Jay there already. "Oh, hey. I was under the impression we'd be the first ones here, judging by how quiet it was."

"Nah, did you really think you'd outrun someone who can fly?" Jay said, sticking her thumb toward her wings. "Sorry, kitty cat, but I won't be beat in a contest of speed."

"We'll see about that. One of Nero's mothers' semblance _is_ pure speed after all. He's pretty fast on his feet. Plus, Porfirio can even teleport, so there's that."

Jay scoffed at her friend. "Y'know, that black ops training they programmed you with is shining through. That was the most efficient assassination of fun I've ever seen. Kill confirmed, asshole." She smirked and extended her hand for a high five, which was reciprocated with a clank as their armoured hands collided. "Glad you made it out here."

"To be frank, I'll be embarrassed if anybody _doesn't_. These cannon fodder are frankly boring me."

"Ah, getting a craving for the most dangerous game again, eh kitty cat?"

"No, just disappointed it's the same Grimm I spent a year killing by myself. I'd kill for a little variety."

"I'm just glad it's easy" Nero interjected. "No one's gonna get hurt if they're half as good as us."

"I'd settle for a quarter of the cat's strength to be frank" Jay said, turning to Nero. "Didn't figure you as a swordfighter, Rose."

"Hey, I have this too" he said, hoisting up a handgun-like apparatus that resembled a speaker. "I'm no one trick pony."

"Grimm, exit stage _left!_ "

The sudden exclamation and the sight of a Beowolf missing at least two thirds of its head soaring from the treeline and landing in a crumpled heap several yards away temporarily put the group on edge until Porfirio, arm still ablaze, walked with Sienna out of the forest. Sienna rapidly zoomed to the relics, while Porfirio moved to talk to his sister.

"You make it here alright Amber?"

"Kill count, Porfirio?" Amber said, not breaking eye contact with a white pawn piece she held in her hand.

"Uh, twenty-one?"

"Twenty-four."

" _Fuck!_ " Porfirio shouted, turning away from the group. He walked over and grabbed the same piece as his sister, stopping to look at Alice.

"How're you holding up, butterfly?"

"Thirty-seven."

"I fucking hate all of you."

The riotous laughter was interrupted when what appeared to be an Ursa Major with brown markings broke the treeline. While that alone wasn't strange enough to abate their fire, what was was the fact that Donovan and Jahim seemed to be riding it. They ground to a stop, hopping off the Ursa before turning to the group.

"Are these the relics?" Jahim shouted, a worried look on his face.

"Y-yeah," Jay said. "Someone wanna tell me what the _fuck_ just happened?"

"Later. Jahim, grab the Black Queen and let's move! There's no time to waste!"

"What do you-"

A chorus of growls cut off Jay's inquiry, as a horde of what looked like no less than seventy Beowolves ran from the treeline, several armoured Alphas at their front. Jahim claimed the chess piece before hopping on the Grimm.

"Go, run! The school is this way! Follow us!"

The Ursa took off charging away from the group, and the rest, not wanting to be stampeded, followed suit. Alice and Jay ended up hopping onto the seemingly friendly Grimm to keep up, whereas Amber, Porfirio, Nero, and Sienna were simply fast enough to outrun the horde. The group came to a bridge over a small canyon, which lead to a cliff face that would be their salvation. As they reached the midpoint of the bridge, however, a new obstacle made itself apparent; two heads, one black, and one white, coiled their way out of the rubble on the other side of the bridge. A King Taijitu the size of a large building slithered it's way out into the open, making its presence known. This made Donovan pause, before halting Tania's process. Amber and the others turned to look at him.

"If the wolves get to us while we're fighting that thing, we're going to get killed," he said. "We'll handle the wolves. The snake is yours."

Amber nodded before running forward, the others following suit. Jahim and the others on Tania's back hopped off, leaving only Donovan on it as they exited the bridge and faced the oncoming horde.

"You sure about this Don?" Alice asked. "'I'm picking up quite a few of them."

"I'm sure we can handle it. It's just another hunt." He readied his giant, two-headed spear as he prepared his Grimm mount for a charge. "And don't call me Don."

"Roger, boss." Alice replied, drawing two guns. Jay's helm snapped shut, and Jahim's rifle's chamber clicked shut, a fresh crystal loaded in.

The four charged forward, meeting the horde head on in a hail of gunfire and blade strikes.

Amber, Porfirio, Sienna, and Nero all reached their end of the bridge, facing the enormous threat before them. They all readied their weapons, before the Taijitu finally noticed them, and hissed violently at their presence.

"This looks like it's gonna be tough" Nero thought out loud.

"No."

The others turned to look at Amber. Her face was contorted into a wicked-looking, yet composed grin, her eyes opened wide. The once shining gold pools were now a fierce crimson.

"This is where the fun begins."


	9. Clashes by the Big Bridge

Donovan, Alice, Jay, and Jahim stood completely surrounded by Beowolves, the horde having encircled them once they broke their ranks. The group was having very little issue dispatching the wolves; a single shot or slash from any of their weapons was plenty to deal with the smaller brood, and the Alphas went down easily to either Tania's claws or Donovan's rifle. Even Alice's handguns were a high enough calibre to pierce their armour. The issue came about when, despite their best efforts, the horde refused to thin even slightly.

"Why are we not getting anywhere? I've killed like forty of these things!" Jay shouted through her mask, crushing the skull of a Beowolf in a pincer. "Forty-one!"

"Donovan, you're the Grimm guy here!" Jahim shouted, clashing his blade against an Alpha's claw. "Got any clue as to what's going on here?"

"It's got-" Donovan was interrupted by the crack of his giant rifle tearing an Alpha in half. "Got to be the Alphas. They're congregated, and that's drawing in all the smaller ones."

"So," Alice said, effortlessly firing off rounds and killing wave after wave of Beowolves. "Got any plans for dealing with an army, boss?"

Donovan returned to spear forme and impaled a charging Beowolf. "Something like that."

Amber caught the Taijitu's bite with her blade, her hand bracing the end of her sword as it was clamped between the jaws of the giant beast. She looked back and forth, assessing the situation. Nero was dodging the snake's strikes deftly, seeming to be trying to draw the head's attention while Porfirio and Sienna laid into it with gunfire and fireballs. Once the dust settled, there was not even so much as a scratch.

"The scales are too strong!" Sienna shouted, hooking onto a tree and yanking herself to safety. "We can't get through!"

"Nero, got any ideas?" Porfirio offered, warping next to him and attempting to keep the head at bay.

"Erm, I'm thinking…" he said, dodging another strike. "We can't break the scales, we need another angle of attack."

Amber tore her blade free from the Taijitu's vice and struck at it's head, glancing off the bone plating. She shouted to the other two while rolling to avoid the counterattack.

"Split up and occupy both heads! I can get through these scales! Sienna, move in and cover my entry!"  
"How do I do that?" Sienna shouted from behind the tree trunk.

"Extended magazine, Sienna!" Amber replied, running at the snake's midsection.

"Ah, I almost forgot about that!" Sienna swung next to Amber, and pulled her shotgun from her back. She then withdrew a magazine that looked to be as long as the gun itself from her back and loaded it in. The pump locked backward, a foregrip falling down from where it was. She gripped it, and as soon as the white head begun to make a strike, she pulled the trigger, a hail of fully automatic buckshot raining from the barrel, knocking the head completely off course and into a wall. Sienna begun cackling as the stream continued to pin the snake in place, while Nero shifted to the other side, firing concussions from his gun to garner the attention of the black head. Porfirio Joined Sienna in dealing with the white one, while Amber finally reached the midsection of the snake where the colours begun to blend. She lead with a downward strike, which glanced off of the snake. She followed through, bringing the blade back up the swing arc, again glancing off. She continued in this pattern, and each strike became increasingly faster, and her hair begun to shine a brilliant gold, growing brighter as she continued.

 _That's it, keep going,_ Porfirio thought as he watched his sister attack. _She'll be there in no time now._

Amber had apparently reached a point where the Grimm could feel it, as the White head suddenly reeled and attempted to strike. A hook wrapped it's way around the snake's maw, and Sienna planted her feet in an attempt to drag the head away from Amber. The Black head, sensing the danger, turned to strike Amber as well, but caught a fireball to the left side of its face, returning it's attention to Porfirio, who had joined Nero in his efforts in dealing with the Black head.

Amber suddenly grabbed the grip at the bottom of her sword's blade, and depressed the trigger on the handle. The opposite edge of her blade opened, and from it swung a much more slender, curved sword as long as the larger blade. She continued her strikes, now moving even faster, using both blades to alternate blows. Scales begun to fly off as her strikes begun to cleave off chunks of the beasts tough flesh.

"Sienna!" Amber shouted suddenly as she swung. "On my mark, let him loose at me!"

"You sure Am?" Sienna said, trying with all her might to hold said head back.

"Just get ready!" She screamed, her hair seemingly ablaze now, striking extremely rapidly and carving a larger and larger wound into the Grimm, before suddenly hearing a clunk as she struck its spinal cord.

"NOW!" she shouted, and Sienna released the White Head, which sailed fang first at Amber. At what seemed like the last moment possible, she rolled out of the way, and the Taijitu's fangs cleaved what remained of it's own midsection clean through. The Black head, which was rearing for another strike against Porfirio, suddenly fell limp and crumpled. The four regrouped, and Nero slapped Amber on the back.

"Nice one, Am. I wouldn't have remembered your semblance, or had the idea to make the damn thing kill _itself_. Good work."

"Thanks," Amber said, her eyes, now golden once again after her hair had extinguished, unmoving from what was happening at the other side of the bridge, "but what the fuck are they doing?"

"Alright, we've got one attempt at this, so make it count!" Donovan shouted, standing next to Jay and Jahim at the base of the bridge, fighting off Beowolves. "You two, move on my mark! Alice, Death Blossom, now!"

"Gotcha boss!" Alice shouted, standing in the centre of the horde. She immediately began firing wildly with her guns, rotating herself to adjust her aim as her hail of gunfire mowed down wave after wave of Grimm. This in turn drew away more of the stragglers near Donovan and company.

"Go, now!" Donovan shouted, and Jahim dove backward off the cliff, Jay following suit shortly thereafter. As he fell, Jahim aimed at the cliff face, which was lined with crystals Jay had flown down and planted. One clean blast from his rifle triggered a chain reaction, sending explosions deep into the cliff. Jay scooped up the falling Jahim, and placed him on the bridge next to a retreating Donovan and Tania. She then followed through and scooped up the still rapidly-firing Alice, before placing her down and flying down to the blast point. All of the Beowolves had congregated to the edge of the cliff or near it, and that was all according to the plan. Jay, with a flourish of Air Dust, flew upward, dislodging the cliff face along the leyline. Another gust upward, and Jay flipped the dislodged piece of land upward, landing and crushing the large majority of the horde while also destroying the entrance onto the bridge, keeping the others safe. A few potshots later, the scourge was cleared, and the group begun to walk to meet up with Amber and the others at the other side.

"Well, Donovan, I'd say that went well." Jay said, resting her hands behind her now-unmasked head.

"I'd say so as well," Alice said, casually reloading her various handguns as she walked. "Though it did seem a tad bit… excessive."

"Well, it at least got the job done." Donovan said.

"More than that," Jahim said, "It landscaped the fucking forest. I can't imagine the Headmaster'll be thrilled that we made a new mountain while also simultaneously ruining this bridge."

"I'm sure it'll all work out," Jay said. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

"Amber Xiao Long, Porfirio Xiao Long, Nero Rose, Sienna Ren."

The Headmaster's words boomed through the auditorium, filled with students and faculty to see the formation of the new teams entering Nikos Academy. The four whose names were called stepped onto the stage to the sounds of applause, all respectfully waiting for the Headmaster's words.

"The four of you retrieved the White Pawn pieces. From this moment on, you will be referred to as Team ASNL, lead by Amber Xiao Long."

Amber's eyes went wide in shock at her nomination of team leader. Porfirio quickly wrapped his sister in a hug, while Sienna and Nero simply smiled at their new leader. The four walked just offstage, knowing the rest of their friends were next. Sure enough, the four names the Headmaster uttered next were the ones the group had anticipated.

"Donovan Stormbringer, Jean-Louise Merletta, Jahim Faird, Alice Tuyet."

The four followed the example set by the other teams before them, eagerly awaiting their appointment.

"You four gathered the Black Queen pieces. From here on out, you will be referred to as Team SAJJ, lead by Donovan Stormbringer."

"No surprise there," Jay said, slapping Donovan on the back in congratulations.

"Jean-Louise?" Alice said towards Jay. "What a mouthful."

"Hence the nickname, smartass." Jay quipped back.

The four members of Team SAJJ laughed as they walked off the stage, to meet with their friends in Team ASNL and head to their dormitories. They arrived, finding they were stationed directly across from one another, in identical rooms. The moon hung high in the now nighttime sky visible through SAJJ's window.

"Alright everyone, classes start tomorrow, so let's get some sleep."

"Indeedy, boss." Alice said, placing her belongings in her closet. "Wouldn't want to be exhausted for Xiao Long-B's class first thing tomorrow."

"Aw _fuck_ , we have History first thing?" Jay said from her position, flopped face-down upon the bed closest to the door. "I'm gonna die. No question. Alice, give me my last rites."

"Oh c'mon, Blake's a great teacher. She taught Porfirio, Nero, and Sienna since they were kids. How bad could it be?"

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," Donovan said as he laid down. "Goodnight, team. Alarm's set for 6 AM."

"Night, boss."

"Night, Donovan."

"Fuck me, _6 AM?_ "

Stifled laughter filled the room as Team SAJJ succumbed to their exhaustion and fell asleep.


	10. Not Alone Anymore

_"Don't talk, just listen."_

 _The voice was somewhat melodic in its tone, the wicked person behind it spinning a Balisong by one of the covers as they paced back and forth in front of Jay. She was bound to a chair, her body covered in fresh cuts delivered by that same, spinning, bloody knife. It's not like she could talk if she wanted to. Her voice had given out from screaming earlier._

 _"You're quite the catch, girl. You've made a bit of a habit out of fucking up my plans. And you're only like, what fourteen?"_

 _"I-I…" she managed to stammer out._

 _She was silenced by a the knife slashing across her arm. Her nerves were deadened to the point where she didn't even feel it._

 _"Don't talk, just listen."_

 _She didn't even bother screaming anymore. She knew it got her nowhere._

 _"Fortunately for you, my boss wants you alive. Can't imagine what they want a filthy sympathizer like you alive for, but whatever. Just means I get to have some fun before turning you over to her." Her captor leaned in close. She saw his face, the cold brown eyes, the horns protruding from the top, and the jagged scars of a clawed strike streaking across his face. She spat in the face that was staring her down. She felt little but anger anymore. Her fear had all but evaporated._

 _"Oh? Well, looks like there's one more place for me to leave my mark."_

 _The cold steel of the knife touched her face, which had remained undisturbed thus far._

 _The fear she thought she was above suddenly returned as the man begun to scrape the blade forth._

Jay bolted upright in bed, panting heavily. She quickly moved a hand to her face, and was glad to find the only moistness there was the sweat she was caked in.

 _It was only a nightmare._

She sighed in relief before turning her attention to the consistent pattering against the window. A storm had begun in the night. She laid back down, trying to slow her breathing.

 _Just listen to the rain. Relax yourself. Don't wake everyone-_

A roll of thunder echoed, followed by a whimper that pulled Jay from her thoughts.

 _-up?_

She turned to the source of the noise, which was the bunk to her left, housing Alice. She saw through the darkness that she was curled up tightly, flinching in time with heavier raindrops. Her blindfold was visibly moist around the eyes.

 _She's crying?_

Jay thanked her faunus heritage before quietly slipping out of bed and kneeling next to Alice's bunk. She whispered softly, as to try and not wake the others.

"H-hey, Al, you alright?"

Alice responded with a hushed gasp before talking in a shaky whisper. "J-Jay? G-go back to bed. I'm fine."

Another crack of thunder sent Alice into a tighter ball, her face buried completely in her arms.

"No you're not. Get outta bed."

"Wha-"

"Let's go for a walk," Jay said, grabbing her scroll before standing at the door. "C'mon."

Alice seemed initially hesitant, before quietly joining her partner.

The two walked for a ways, Alice continuing to flinch as thunder would roll across the hallway windows. Eventually, they ended up in a small room at the end of the floor, which appeared to have scattered seating and a small kitchen inside.

"Here, take a seat, I'll be right back."

Alice took a seat and watched Jay as she moved around the kitchen. She withdrew a pair of mugs, filling them with water, before pulling two small packages from a pantry and emptying their contents into the cups. They were then placed into the microwave, which after a brief delay, dinged in indication of a completed cycle. Jay walked forward, placing one mug in front of Alice before taking the seat across from her, and placing her scroll on the table. Alice couldn't see what it read. She instead looked at the cup in some vain attempt to discern what lied within.

"Relax, it's hot chocolate." Jay said, taking a drink. "I normally drink stronger stuff after a nasty nightmare, but I figured waking up with a hangover on the first day of classes was a bad idea."

Alice took a drink, the warmth from the liquid filling her body immediately. She begun to feel better right away, until another crack echoed and she flinched again, annulling the feeling.

"So, you, uh, wanna tell me why I found my partner sobbing in fear at 11 PM? 'Cause I'm not buying that nothing's wrong."

Alice sighed, swirling her drink in her glass and sniffling, trying to get her crying under control. Jay watched in a state of confusion. This was anything but the confident girl she'd met in the woods.

"I'm… afraid of the rain."

The words seemed to drip out in a stream of hesitation and fear. Jay could tell this was something she felt sensitive on. Alice took another sip before continuing.

"My semblance works based on motion. If I'm in the rain, I'm completely surrounded by thousands of individual objects traveling at high speeds. It sends me into sensory overload. I can't see or hear anything, I can't move, it just triggers danger and panic signals in my brain until it stops."

Jay's eyes went wide. She was having a hard time imagining how scary that would be, to be stripped of any kind of self control until the rain stops…

"So, is that what's happening now, or…"

"No, fuck no…" Alice responded, "My semblance stops working when it hits a wall. Inside, it isn't as bad. It's just…" she sighed again. "When I was a little girl, my semblance showed up right after I went blind. Apparently, it wasn't the first case. There have been a handful; of blind people with strong auras that develop similar semblances to mine very quickly. The doctor told him everything, including the bit about the rain. So, one day, when he got mad, he threw me out into the storm outside and shut the door."

Jay was wholly unsure of what to do, too appalled by the story to even comment. Alice took a deep breath before continuing.

"I had to stumble my way into an alley and hide under a box. The rain went on for what seemed like forever. Then, it stopped. I had no idea where I was, or even when it was, and I was too scared to move. A traumatized, blind, armless eight year old lost in the middle of Vale. Then, one of Oolong's marches passed by, he saw me, took me in and that was that. But now, whenever I hear the rain, it just freaks me out. I just shut down."

"Fuck man, that's... that's something else. I'm sorry."

Alice sniffled and shrugged, trying to smile "You don't need to be sorry, it's not like you're a thunder god doing this to fuck with me or something."

Jay laughed. The fact that she was cracking jokes at least meant she was calming down. Alice even managed to actually smile at the laughter.

"Well, your secret's safe with me. It's nothing to be embarrassed about though. I mean, everyone's got something they're afraid of."

"Oh?" Alice asked, her smile visibly widening. "What's the fear of the goliath, mountain-flipping bird woman I have as a partner then?"

"Well, I'm super claustrophobic, but I'd wager that comes standard with the territory of being this big."

"It makes sense though. I can't imagine someone so used to flying around could be cooped up for very long."

"Why do you think I took the stairs earlier?"

Alice laughed at the memory, it suddenly making more sense, Jay opting to walk seven flights of stairs rather than use an elevator.

"I just assumed you were trying to, like, stay fit or something."

" _Please._ " she said, flexing her left arm for emphasis. "The only person more in shape here is Ms. Kitty Cat, and she's fucking surgically augmented. You ever try lifting that sword?"

"Yes," Alice said with a smirk.

"Oh, right. Metal arms. Well, I mean, I can lift it too in my suit!" Jay laughed with Alice. She was glad to see her feeling better.

"Can I, uh, ask what your nightmare was about?"

Jay froze. This was a topic she desperately wanted to avoid talking about. She glanced at her scroll, which had the weather application pulled up. It read clear skies.

"Eh, it's a really long story, and, uh, not the best stuff to hear right before bed. C'mon. The rain's stopped, and it's like 1 am now." Jay finished up her drink. "Let's get back to sleep."

Alice finished hers as well. "Yeah, sure thing, we have to get up in like five hours anyway."

"Ugh, don't remind me."

They stopped in front of the door, Alice putting a hand up on Jay's shoulder.

"Erm, thanks for, uh, talking to me. It really helped, I think."

"Hey, you're not alone Al. We're partners, and part of a team. Bottling shit up is only gonna hurt you. Trust me, I've found that out the hard way before."

"Gotcha," Alice said, noting the contradiction in her words. _Is she hiding something?_ "Night Jay."

"Night."

The two slipped silently back into the room, laying back down in their respective beds. Jay looked at Alice, who seemed to pass out right away, sleeping calmly in the storm's absence. She smiled as she rolled to her other side, her gaze falling onto her leader. Her smile faded, replaced by worry. She thought back to her dream, and the events therein. The white of his horns, highlighted by the moonlight coming through the window, seemed to stare right at her.

 _There's no way. No way at all._

Despite her self reassurance, mild paranoia kept her awake for another solid hour before she too succumbed to sleep.


	11. Grimm Reminder

The shrill blaring of Donovan's alarm was quickly silenced by its owner, the groggy faunus sliding out of bed. He stood up and stretched, accompanied by the similarly awoken Alice and Jahim, the latter making his way to the restroom while the former turned to her still sleeping partner, then to Donovan. Donovan nodded, before roughly shaking Jay awake. She finally stirred, her crimson eyes fluttering open.

"W-wha… the fuck, Don… It can't be six yet…"

"It is, Jay, get up." Alice said, "Class is in 2 hours. Get up and get ready."

" _Fuuuuuuuck_." Jay mumbled, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Isn't there a saying about early birds here in Vale?" Donovan said, chuckling to himself.

"I grew up in Mistral, so fuck your early bird bullshit." Jay said, standing and stretching her wings to full span before folding them back behind her.

"You need a coffee from the lounge or something Jay?" Alice said.

"Nah, I'm good. That stuff's poison."

"That's rich coming from you, Ms. 'seven damn bottles of liquor smuggled in her luggage'." Alice said, sticking her thumb to a closed cabinet full of alcohol.

"Hey, you think that's bad? According to Amber's messages, Porfirio allegedly got more than twice that in wine into the school. Fucker even brought a fridge for it." Jay said, laughing as she recounted the messages she saw last night.

"What?" Donovan asked, dumbfounded at the boldness. "Aren't both of his parents professors here? How did he get away with that?"

Jay simply shrugged. "I dunno. To be honest, you and I are in a similar boat Donovan. Other than Amber, I haven't known any of you all for more than a couple days."

"Don't worry about it," Alice said, "Nero's paranoia is legendary. He'll hide to the point where Oolong won't find it." She sat down in bed, before opening a panel on her right forearm to inspect for damages.

Jay walked over and leaned against the wall near her and Alice's shared closet. "The real questions should be what kind of wine, and whether or not the asshole's gonna share."

"As someone who's known Porfirio for years, I know we're not getting a single drop. His wine fridge has a _passcode_." Alice smirked. "Well, a passcode I know, but one nonetheless."

"Whatever. Guess I'm just pacing myself on the good shit then."

Donovan sighed and shook his head. "You're all despicable."

Alice merely shrugged. "Blame Yang. She owns a huge club in downtown, so her son becoming a drunk is logical, I guess."

"Whoa, hold on, Yang owns The Four Maidens? No way."

"She sure does" a familiar voice called. The three members of SAJJ in the room turned to the doorway, to find Porfirio and Nero standing there. Jay shot Alice a look for not shutting the door, before realizing all the good it did and turning back to their guests. "Though," Nero continued, "she manages it from here."

"Yeah. Mom, er, 'acquired' the place from the previous owner right after she got back into the fight after the Fall. Used it as her base of operations 'til she joined back up with Mother and Nero's folks, and once the war was over, Mom and Mother operated freelance outta that place 'til Amber and I entered frame."

Nero chuckled. "P, you know that isn't even half the story. What about Victor? Or Mercury? Or-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was the abridged version. It's 7:30, alright? We'd be late if I told the whole-"

"Wait, _what?_ " Donovan shouted before looking at his scroll's clock. He quickly shoved Nero and Porfirio out the door and slammed it, turning to the girls. "Hurry up and get ready! We're going to be late!"

Jahim emerged from the bathroom in his uniform to total chaos, Alice sprinting past him into the bathroom behind him. Jay was leaning against the wall next to him, apparently waiting for her turn whilst drinking a dark liquid from a glass, whereas Donovan was quickly throwing his uniform on, apparently having given up on the concept of privacy.

"Erm," Jahim said, deeply confused, "Something up?"

"Donovan set his alarm an hour late, and now we're fucked." Jay deadpanned, slamming the rest of her drink.

"Gotcha."

A mere fifteen minutes later, Team SAJJ emerged from their room prepared for classes, meeting up with the similarly prepared Team ASNL as they moved toward their shared first class. The eight walked into the section of the school containing lecture halls, Jay turning to Amber as they neared Xiao Long-B's hall.

"So, got any advice on your mom, kitty cat?" she asked.

"Bla-, er, Mother is rather strict about a few things, from what I've learned" Amber replied.

"Just do your work and don't mess around in class and you'll get along just fine," Porfirio said as the group walked into the room, taking their seats just before 8. As the hour came, everyone begun to quiet as a feline faunus emerged from a door at the front of the hall. Black feline ears not unlike Amber's emerged from her similarly coloured hair, which sat as a medium length down her uniform, consisting of the same style of suit Oolong and the Headmaster wore, emblazoned on the breast pocket with a golden symbol of a flame. Her eyes were unmistakably the same shade of gold as her daughter's, though what many more were drawn to was the jagged scar across the front of her neck. She shuffled some papers at a podium at the front of the room before clearing her throat and beginning to speak.

"Good morning, class. I am Professor Xiao Long, and I will be your History instructor for the duration of your time at Nikos academy. Before we begin our first lesson, allow me to… clear any confusion that may linger about me." Her tone was stern as she spoke. "First and foremost, yes, I am a faunus, as are many faculty and students at this academy. Now I understand some of you may come from places on Remnant where Faunus are usually, well, we'll be kind and use the term 'looked down on'. I'd like to make it clear, for not just me, but for any staff here; Vale is not that place, and if I, or Dust save you my wife, along with any other faculty see or hear of any behavior like that in Atlas, there will be consequences."

The silence in the room was deafening. Donovan turned to Porfirio, who seemed lost as to who the woman lecturing them was, and what they did with his Mother.

"Secondly, yes, I am the same Blake Xiao Long you read about in those books, or saw portrayed in those films. I think Ms. Adel does me justice." Her sly smile crept back up, issuing a sigh of relief from Porfirio as many others laughed slightly at the reminder of the RWBY film series that had been premiering as of late. "Still, many quite audibly wonder why I teach history of all things, especially those who really only watch those... adaptations. Most see someone more inclined to teach on tactics, or combat, but that's really all that those films or books want to portray. They tend to enjoy skipping over the fact that I was once a member of a radical terror organization. Or that after the fall, I became an off the books assassin to survive until RWBY got together. Or that I didn't join the Hunt legitimately until around ten years ago. You would all agree these are rather important facts, correct?"

The many shocked heads of the class nodded or verbalized their agreement.

"That's why I teach history" the Professor said. "So many people, in their rush to tell a story, leave out what's important. They only want to tell their own point of view, be it out of laziness or to further their own narrative. That's dangerous with history. One omitted detail in a war's report can lead to another. One forgotten mention of a faux pas that resulted in a defeat can lead to a repeated misstep. I teach history, because I'm tired of erasure leading to more avoidable deaths, like it did in the Fall, or in the Faunus Rebellion."

Silence once again permeated the room.

"Now, let's move on to today's topic," the Professor said, turning to the blackboard.

Classes continued for the next few hours, up until the lunch hour made itself apparent. The group got their food, and sat together at a currently unoccupied table. Jahim was the first to vocalize on the day so far.

"Man, are we gonna have a single normal teacher for _anything_ this semester? I mean there's Xiao Long-B, Wukong, Daichi, and we're not even to Xiao Long-Y yet."

"Well," Donovan said, pulling up their schedule in between bites of salad, "considering there's only Combat and Combat Philosophy left on the schedule, that's probably going to be a no."

"Great," Jay said, speaking in between what could only be described as shovelfuls of corn entering her mouth. "So, in order, we've got a hybrid historian/assassin, a teacher who hangs from the fucking ceiling, a communications teacher that is stoic as a fucking rock, and then a robot and a woman who can punch a hole through a Paladin after lunch."

"Hey," Nero interjected, "you're acting like any of us are 'normal' in the first place. I mean, we're all kids of the saviors of the world, whereas you guys-"

"Can tame Grimm, is a blind cyborg, has a pair of giant fucking wings, and is the younger brother to the most capable huntsman in training on Remnant" Porfirio said, pointing to each member of SAJJ in turn. "Quite the rogue's gallery, I'll say."

"Hey, by definition, I'm a _cybrid_ , not a cyborg. Cyborgs have to be at least 50% machine. I'm only 34%" Alice said matter-of-factly.

"Point still stands, beautiful. We're all a bunch of misfits, ain't we?" Jay said.

"A bunch of misfits who need to hurry up and eat" Amber said, pushing her finished plate forward. "We'll be late to Combat if we don't head out soon."

"Jeez, Am, what the fuck? You had like 3 sandwiches!" Jahim shouted.

"Not my fault you guys both eat slow and talk around your bites."

"Surprise, surprise, the biologically augmented super soldier has a metabolism like a racecar" Jay quipped.

"No need to be sarcastic, Jay." Donovan said, finishing his salad. "Amber is right, though. Everyone finish up, we don't want to be late for Combat. I have a feeling if Xiao Long-B is that strict, her wife probably follows suit."

Porfirio guffawed at Donovan's statement. "I don't think you could ever comprehend just how wrong you are."


	12. Harsh Lesson

Teams SAJJ and ASNL entered the enormous gymnasium that the Combat classes were held in, disappearing into the locker rooms and reemerging shortly thereafter in their standard combat garb, their weapons on their hips and backs as they moved to join the other students.

"Ah! Finally free of that infernal uniform," Jay said, stretching her wings as she walked. "I really need to get a sewing kit and open up some back slits. Keeping these things cramped up hurts like fuck. Plus, I get to wear pants."

"Got something against skirts, Crow?" Alice asked.

" _Fuck_ yes. So loose and open. I feel basically naked in those things. And you may not be able to tell all that well babe, but I'm not too big on exposed skin. Anyway, aren't _you_ in pants anyway?"

"Well, it's kinda a one-piece thing. Besides, you'd have to be crazy to try and do the shit I pull in anything else other than form-fitting stuff. You just get tangled. There's a reason there's boning in my cloak."

"Hey, I make it work!" Sienna said, gesturing rather haphazardly at her bracer dress.

"Sienna," Amber began, "You dress is reinforced with _steel_ to not only support you, but rather explicitly to not move, for exactly the reasons Alice just gave."

"Honestly, I don't even know why you guys try," Donovan said, nodding towards the Sienna who had abandoned the conversation in favour of fawning over the long, slender sword that appeared to be glowing bright green held by someone in the stand-like seating, who seemed to be cleaning it. His eyes appeared to be the same glowing shade, until he sheathed it in the scabbard on his back, afterward his eyes becoming a much more reserved shade of the same green.

"Huh," Nero said, taking a seat with the rest of the group by the top row, across from the swordsman, "wonder what his game is."

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say 'swish swish stab', Nero. It's a sword, dude, not a fighter jet." Porfirio said.

"If you're all done bickering," Amber said, her tone sounding impatient, "It's about time. The professors should arrive soo-"

Amber was cut off by a rather loud crash as the double doors situated at the front of the stadium-like seating slammed into the adjacent walls, and the fiery blonde professor from their first day on campus walked into the room, lowering her leg from the savage front kick that flung the doors open. The robotic professor followed her in, an audible digitized sigh escaping his speaker.

"Professor, we have talked about your treatment of the facilities-"

" _Goooooood_ afternoon everyone!" Yang boomed, ignoring her coworker, "I assume you've all had a good first day, full of boring syllabus bullshit and a hearty lunch. Ren's a killer cook, ain't he Oolong?"

"I would not know, Professor," Oolong said.

"Right, I forget that sometimes," Yang said, scratching the back of her head while giving a hesitant chuckle. "Anyway, I'm just gonna go ahead and answer a few questions you all probably have before you ask 'em to save time. This," she raised her cybernetic arm, fully visible due to her short sleeves of her huntress outfit, "happened during the Fall. Leader of the White Fang cut it off 'cause I was reckless and rushed into danger. Landed me a hot wife though, so it wasn't all that bad, aside from the crippling depression and stuff that came with it. Then I got off my ass and ran a gang for a while, found Blake, saved the world, went back to the gang, married Blake, had kids, went legit, and bam, here I am to teach you kids how to beat shit up. Any other questions?"

The class remained quiet as they tried to comprehend the flood of potentially alarming information that was casually tossed at them.

"Alrighty then!" Yang said, "Hey Oolong, you wanna say anything about you?"

"My tale is rather long and tiresome, if anyone wishes to know, they are free to talk to me during time away from class."

Yang merely shrugged. "Suit yourself." She turned back to the class. "So, as I mentioned earlier, other classes have boring, long winded syllabus days where they just talk and talk all day long. Like in my wife's class. Sorry, by the way, on her behalf for any nightmares you had sleeping through her lecture." Laughter rose from the students.

"However," Oolong continued, attempting to reign the class back in, "we believe the best way to describe our class's procedure and content is to show it to all of you."

"Right! So what we're gonna do instead is have one of you take on one of us for the first spar of the day. Whoever steps up gets their pick between us."

"I'll do it."

The voice that spoke up caught many by surprise, especially Yang. Amber stood up and strode down to the arena, earning a worried look from Porfirio and dead silence from everyone else.

"Well, uh, that was fast. Thought I'd have to pick someone outta a hat or something."

"Very well. Ms. Xiao Long. Which of the two of us would you like to spar with?"

"You, Professor Oolong. I've fought my mom plenty. I'd prefer to see something I haven't seen before."

"As you wish. Professor, calibrate the screens for combat."

"Ugh, I'm so bad at this. Alright, alright." She walked over to the console, and after a few minutes finally got it situated. "Alrighty, we're good to go. Ready yourselves, go on the horn!"

Amber deactivated the Mag-Lock that kept Cascade on her back, and twirled the sword in her left hand before holding it in front of her. Oolong produced a small apparatus which quickly expanded into a twin-bladed polearm. The blades, however, were unlike anything Amber had trained against. The one on what looked like the forward facing end curved outward like a bell, while the back end resembled a crescent moon. He raised himself onto a single leg, and braced the polearm behind himself.

 _Alright_ , Amber thought to herself, _He wants to maintain distance with the staff, and it's probably loaded with Dust tech as well. My sword is longer, so I can press with aggression. I just need to disarm him, and he's toast. Lance wielders are trash at hand to hand._

The horn to start sounded, and Amber immediately charged forward, delivering a horizontal blow that glanced off of the bell-shaped blade as Oolong brought it up to guard. She used the momentum to bring the giant blade back around and continue her offensive, becoming faster and faster as she progressed. _Yeah, there's the rhythm! Just gotta keep this up, and he'll falter!_

"Jeez, Amber's got him doing nothing but blocking already" Porfirio observed. "You think she's got a shot at taking him?"

"Not at all" Alice commented. "Oolong's just playing with his food. Just watch."

Porfirio moved to object, but opted to keep his eyes focused on the match. He looked up at the screen, and realized something alarming; Amber's aura was draining, and far faster than Oolong's despite him not making a single aggressive move.

"What the…"

"Oh boy, it's gonna start soon." Alice said.

"What is?" Donovan asked.

"The beatdown."

Amber was finally able to land a glancing blow off an ill-timed block, finally giving her the opening she needed. She begun a giant overhead swing, bringing it right down onto Oolong. Metal met metal, but it was not as Amber had anticipated. Oolong had caught her strike, that she brought down full force heavily boosted by her semblance, with his offhand, and was holding it in place almost effortlessly. She noticed the only motion was her hands beginning to shake. Her blade felt far heavier than it just had as well.

"What?"

"Well done, Ms. Xiao Long. Against any other Polearm user, you would have likely won very quickly. Your style and strength compliment eachother well, but your mentality needs work. You are forgetting principle rules of engagement."

"What?" Amber repeated, becoming more and more confused.

"Rule number 1! Know your enemy!" Oolong suddenly shouted, jabbing Amber in the stomach with his lance after coating it in rock with Dust. She stumbled backward, tearing her sword from his grip, and readying herself again. Her breathing was extremely heavy, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold Cascade.

"You deliberately chose me for engagement because you knew nothing about my style, and wanted to see something new. In class, this is cute. On the battlefield, this is suicide. Never willfully engage someone you know nothing about. They could easily wield power that unravels you. Like, for instance, my semblance compared to yours."

"What is his semblance?" Jay asked.

"He calls it _Volume_." Alice stated. "He can mess with a person's aura, either lowering his own to increase theirs, increasing their consumption to make them stronger, or outright muting it. There's a reason I could never take a semblances-on round against him."

"That's absurd!" Nero laughed. "That kind of power would be impossible for a brute force fighter like Amber to beat."

"Exactly."

"Rule number 2!" Oolong shouted as he struck again, this time clashing with Amber's blade. "You are your own worst enemy. Mentality is everything on the battlefield, and maintaining a level and calculating mind in combat is essential. You allowed your confidence in your strikes and momentum to cloud you from seeing that it was not that I could not strike, rather, that I was intentionally not striking at all. I was luring you into a mental state of guaranteed victory, so you would let down your guard and remain open to my aura manipulation. You thought nothing of your aura whilst fighting, and as a result you are now barely able to lift your blade."

Amber pressed a button on the grip of Cascade, and quickly moved her arms in a sweeping motion. Her smaller sword emerged from the gargantuan blade, and in a fluid motion, struck Oolong's Polearm at an angle to knock it from his grip and coasting to the other side of the arena. She quickly turned and struck again, and once again striking metal that was not her intended target. What she instead struck was the barrel of a large handgun Oolong held in his left hand.

"It would seem that you are already familiar with rule number 3." Another handgun emerged from the sleeve of his suitcoat, finding its way into his right hand, which quickly pointed it between Amber's eyes. "Always have a secondary plan of attack. Yield, Ms. Xiao Long."

Amber hesitantly, dropped her blade, raising her hands in defeat. The scoreboard announced Oolong as the victor, who promptly returned the handguns into his sleeves before retrieving and collapsing his polearm. Amber did the same, putting her sword back together, and then returning it to the Mag-Lock on her back.

"Well fought, Ms. Xiao Long. Your position as Leader of Team ASNL is well earned." Oolong said, walking over to Yang's position.

"Yeah. You too, Professor." Amber said, returning to her seat, and letting out a quiet sigh that only those around her noticed.

"Alrighty, now that we got that out of the way, we can get onto the main event! The Daily Spar! So, basically, the system is gonna randomly pick two of you guys, and we'll have an all out spar, tournament rules, one a day. Once you've been picked, you're good until everyone else goes, which should be about a week or two. Anyway, let's get goin'!"

She slammed a button on the console, and two headshots set over names appeared on the scoreboard.

"Jay Merletta from SAJJ and Ryōjin Aoi from GRRN! I hope I pronounced that right."

"You did, Professor," The boy with the sword said as he descended the stairs to the center arena. He was quite small, with a very limber build. His hair was a bright green, a similar shade to his eyes. Now that he was standing, a second, shorter scabbard was visible, set lengthwise across the small of his back. Jay followed his movement, standing opposite him. Nero turned to Porfirio in the stands.

"Well, I guess we'll get to see him after all."

Porfirio chuckled. "My guess still stands."

Ryōjin scoffed at Jay as she entered the arena. "Where is your weapon, or are you simply that confident?"

Jay snickered and shrugged. "Hold on for a second," she said, stretching her arms as her suit enveloped her frame completely. She cracked her neck as it finished, punching her other open hand. "Well, Transcendance isn't a weapon really, so I guess both. Ready, Professor." She took a combat stance as she finished speaking.

"As am I." Ryōjin said, crouching low and placing his hand on his smaller sword's grip.

"On the horn, guys." Yang said, pushing a button on the console. Shortly thereafter, a horn sounded, and Ryōjin quickly ran forward, drawing his shorter blade in a sweeping slash. Jay snapped her helmet shut in response, the blow glancing harmlessly off of the plating on the side.

"Ouch," Jay said, her voice once again altered by her helmet's functions. "Looks like you're a bit mismatched." She delivered a fierce front kick to his chest that sent him sailing into the back wall, a solid chunk of his aura missing from the bar on the scoreboard. "You're gonna need to try a little harder than that. C'mon, I wanna see that shiny sword of yours."

Ryōjin got up, dusting himself off as he rose. "You speak quite confidently of your armour, for someone so covered in scars."

Jay immediately surged forward, her punch avoided by a swift duck from Ryōjin, who then rolled in between her legs. "Though, if you're so dead set on seeing Bureido, I'll happily oblige." He lept back, placing his hand on the long sword's handle on his back. He slid it slowly out of it's scabbard. The sword and his eyes both begun to glow a bright green. He held it in his right hand, extending it towards Jay. "Come on."

Jay was immediately in motion, her momentum carried into a punch at his head that was quickly sidestepped. He swung his blade, and Jay cried out in pain, her aura meter draining drastically.

"Too many gaps in your armour. My blade can easily cut thr-"

Jay had spun on her heel, gripping the entirety of Ryōjin face with her wide hand and holding him about a foot off the ground. A startled, haphazard swing glanced off her chest.

"You talk too much." Jay deadpanned, turning her body and brutally slamming Ryōjin to the ground, following up with a further punch to his sternum. His aura immediately fell from near full into the red, signaling Jay's victory.

"That was… fast," Donovan said, startled by his teammate's ferocity. "Is… is he alright?"

"Ryōjin has some aura left, he should be okay," Jahim said, "I'm more worried about Jay, to be honest."

"Yeah, me too," Alice said, looking worried.

Jay retracted her helmet, and walked over to Ryōjin. He opened his eyes, wincing in pain. She walked over to him, her crimson eyes meeting his green ones. She extended a hand down to him.

"H-hey man, you alright. I'm sorry, I, uh, lost it there for a minute."

Ryōjin took her hand using it to help himself rise to his feet. "I apologize as well. I should have realized your scars weren't something to be made fun of. I'm sorry for riling you up like that."

The two shook their already linked hands, before returning to their seats. Yang stepped forward, back into the center of the arena.

"Well, uh, that was a thing," she said, looking at the fresh dent in the wall from Ryōjin's impact. "Anyway, onto basic hand to hand instruction."

"Ah jeez," Jahim said, walking with the rest of the group down the hall to their dorms. "I feel bad for talking bad about our teachers. Yang and Oolong are pretty badass."

"Yeah," Porfirio said, "I didn't expect that 'bot to kick that much ass."

"Hey," Alice said, turning to where she though the statement had come from, "Oolong taught me. And who had the highest kill count on initiation day?"

"Jay. She flipped a damned mountain onto an entire horde." Nero pointed out, earning hearty laughter from Jay.

"I suppose you have a point."

The teams reached their dorms, each entering their rooms and beginning to prepare for bed. Donovan and Amber, both the last to enter their rooms, made short eye contact before shutting their doors, and joining the preparations for sleep.


	13. Thief

Amber checked her scroll as she moved silently out of bed. 23:41. _Perfect_ , she thought. Sleep was refusing to take her, for a number of reasons. She retrieved the pouch that sat at her hip in her armour and began trekking up the stairs to the roof of the dormitory buildings. She opened the door, walking between the pair of radiators on the roof, and stood near the edge. She opened the pouch, and removed a package of cigarettes and a lighter. She examined the lighter closely in the moonlight, something she always did. It was a gift from her former 'master', for a job well done. It's the only remaining thing from those days other than her sword that she hasn't either placed on a shelf to gather dust, brassed to hide shame, or simply destroyed, though she doesn't tell anybody that. Nor does she tell anyone that her symbol, a crescent moon slashed diagonally across by three claws, was also modeled for her by that 'master'. She sighed, lighting a cigarette in her hand and taking a long drag from it. She looked up to the moon before a familiar voice startled her.

"Shouldn't you be resting, team leader?"

Amber turned around to see Donovan leaning against one of the radiators she had walked past. Unlike her, he hadn't seemed to change out of his combat gear, even having his weapons on his back.

"Oh don't be so coy," Amber said, annoyed at being startled. "I could say the same thing about you."

"That's really neither here nor there. If we're going to talk while we're up here, I'd rather it be of substance than mere bickering of who's of the looser morals." He walked over and sat on the edge next to where Amber was standing. "And since smoking is usually used as a de-stressing tool, I assume something's on your mind, Amber."

Amber sighed, taking a seat on the edge of the building next to Donovan, before feeling the wind and moving to the other side of him.

"You were downwind, and I'm not gonna stop smoking." She answered to his quizzical look. "But yeah, something is kinda bothering me."

"Is it the match? Losing to someone of Oolong's calibre isn't something to fret over. Alice told me he can even go toe to toe with Headmaster Arc."

"No, it's not that. I was careless and got punished. I'm a sold- _former_ soldier, learning from a mistake you survive is how you survive. I was frustrated, but I'm long past that. It's just… _ugh_." She took another long hit from the cigarette. "It's only been a day, and I'm already questioning myself."

"Your leadership skills?"

"No, not at all." Amber chuckled lightly. "I commanded a squadron when I was with… _them_ , and they were a bunch of fucking idiots. These guys, I can manage. They're friends, not orderlies. It's cake. It's just… I feel, confused. Yeah, that's a good word for it."

"Confused about what, Amber?"

"That, really." She took another drag. It was a fairly pregnant pause before she spoke again. "I… ugh, why is this so fucking hard to get out?"

"If you're uncomfortable, we can talk about something else."

"No, I think I need to talk about this. Confide in someone, you know? Someone that I can trust."

"You trust me?"

"You haven't given me a reason not to yet. Plus, even though we're in Vale, we faunus gotta stick together, right?"

"I wouldn't know, but sure."

Amber chuckled. "Right, you're a nomad. Whatever, made sense in my head." She paused again. "See, the thing is, they told me I was Amber Xiao Long, and all these things like I had a twin brother, and two moms, and Nero, and Sienna, and Alice, and all these other things when I was captured. Told me that everything I was told was a lie, that they were feeding me bullshit to get me to fight. And I just, believed them. I think more than anything I just wanted it to be true. That all this was real."

"Amber, it is real. You got some of your memories back, right?"

Amber sighed before smashing the lit end of the cigarette on the roof and flicking it off the edge. She seemed to be thinking long and hard about what she would say. "Not nearly enough. I remember some things, but not nearly enough. The doctor told me last time I went that the memories may never come back, and all I can think about is that now. Being around all of them, leading them, just keeps dragging me back to that. I'm not who they remember. I'm just some… thief… who took her place." She sighed again. "How can I lead these guys when all I am is a reminder of someone who doesn't exist anymore?"

There was a long pause before either of them spoke again. "You know, I was just thinking of something similar to this," Donovan said, looking at the sky.

"You were?"

"Yeah. I was looking up at the stars, seeing if any of the constellations I grew up seeing and naming with my older brother were visible in this sky. I only see one that I remember, and it's in a completely different place." He pointed to a small, zig-zagging trail of stars under the moon. "That line was linked to the trail of pieces on the broken moon. We called it the 'Cosmic Dragon's Comet Trail'. We had this tale of how the moon was broken, that a great Cosmic Dragon named Dracomet shattered the moon in a fit of anger, and that trail was his escape path through the cosmos. But here, that doesn't make sense, the stars don't line up at any time of the year, I'd wager. What do your people call that line?"

"It's the 'Moon River'. I think it's called that because it looks kinda like a river underneath the moon. Moonlit rivers are a big romantic symbol in Vale, apparently. There's even a really hoaky song about it."

"See? Neither tale is wrong, we just have different ones. I feel your plight is the same. The Amber you are is like my story; nobody else knew it, and you were confused when they told you theirs, it was against what you knew. The thing is, neither is 'fake', Amber. Perhaps it's not my place to say, but I think maybe you shouldn't worry on what the 'old' Amber would do, and focus on you. If you think that you're not Amber Xiao Long, focus on who you think you are instead."

"That'd be a whole lot easier if I really knew _who_ I was, Donovan. I feel like I'm two people. A girl who they remember, and the person I am now. Who do I be? Do I just throw their memories to the wayside, or do I try to be a person I'm just… _not_?"

"I feel like, and not to sound rude, you're overthinking the others' opinion a bit. When I watch you speak, plan, coordinate, even in the Emerald Forest when you fought together for what little I was able to see of that, they don't treat you as if they resent you, or don't like who you are. You're always going to be family to them, Amber. If your memories come back, then that's a blessing, and you can return to being who you were. But if things keep going as they are, you're only going to hate yourself more and more if you neglect who you are now. Maybe she's not Amber Xiao Long, but she's a powerful warrior, and a humble leader who learns from her failures. I feel that if you truly wish to walk down this road, fretting over this is only going to result in more tragedies. Seize what you've been given, fill your life with meaning, and who knows? Perhaps you'll make new memories with your family to cherish."

"Y'know, you're pretty good at this philosophy stuff, Donovan." Amber said, softly smiling as she looked at the 'Moon River'. "I think I was right. Talking it out was important." The two of them gazed at the stars for a while, before Amber broke the silence again. "Hey, Donovan, why… _were_ you up here? And with your weapons?"

Donovan laughed loudly at the question. "It's kind of embarrassing. I, er, had a quite awful nightmare. I knew I wasn't getting back to sleep, so I retrieved my spears and went for a night hunt. I was hopping on the rooftops to get back, when I stopped to look at the sky, and you showed up." He chuckled again. "Maybe fate isn't total bullshit after all."

"Or it is, and I'm just really lucky that I didn't blow through an entire pack and wallow in self hatred all night."

"You know," Donovan said, standing up from his perch, "if you're looking for a less… self-destructive means of stress relief, you could join me on these night hunts of mine. I assume you're trained in quiet movement."

Amber laughed at the statement. "Quiet enough. I did get the ears after all."

Donovan laughed with her. "Friday night then?"

"Sure."

The two laughed as they walked back down to their dorms, stealthily returning to sleep.

The elevator dinged in the Headmaster's office, and out from it stepped Yang and Blake Xiao Long, clearly having been roused from a comfortable sleep. Both were in hastily thrown on day wear, their hair complete messes and their faces indicative of exhaustion and murderous intent. They walked to the desk of the similarly tired Headmaster, still in uniform slaving over several monitors. Yang was the first to speak, groggily breaking the silence.

"Jaune, please tell me why on Remnant you pulled us outta bed at midnight, and made us drive all the way out here."

"Indeed," Blake continued, "why couldn't this wait until morning?"

"I saw the news feeds, and knew this wasn't really something that could wait for you two." He spun a monitor towards them. "Just after 20:00-"

"What?" Yang said.

"10 at night, dear." Blake said.

"Right, 10:00 PM then, this technology laboratory in downtown Vale was broken into." He pointed to a building on the screen. "Inside was found a trail of corpses, all killed barehanded via a snapped neck, leading to a lab housing an experimental weapon called the Wraith Drive, which was stolen. Investigation is still in the early stages, but survivor eyewitness accounts match the suspect to the one responsible for the attack on the Fall Museum in central Vale last month, being a masked bison faunus of dark skin and long black hair, wearing a black longcoat. Both accounts are very similar, in that in both cases, a single perpetrator gained access to the building, killed everyone they came across silently and barehandedly, and walked away with only one thing, in both cases a weapon."

"Okay, but why did this mean us having to get up and come over here?"

"Well, see, the lab, unlike the museum, had surveillance tapes that weren't wiped by the suspect. It looks like he was in much more of a hurry to get out. We did, however, get a shot of the mask and the symbol on his chest. Here, you should see this." Jaune blew up an image of a man in a frightening looking mask, made of black metal and bearing red eye lenses, and bright white horns curving out of his black hair. They symbol on his chest was that of a Hoof with three slashes across it. Yang and Blake both went wide-eyed and gasped at the image.

"I-is that…" Yang stammered.

"I ran a comparison on the mask. It's identical to the one Amber wore during her time as Knightshade. The symbol is also an existing shape cut across by three slashes, a symbol also shared by Knightshade, and indicative of one thing. See this?" He blew the image up further, and sticking out from the suspect's hip, difficult to see, was the handle to Wilt, the blade of Adam Taurus. "This only confirms the link between this case and the Museum case. They aren't reporting the link yet, but I'm sending word to news outlets now not to publicize this. If word gets out, it could raise a panic, which is exactly what they want." He shut off the monitor, turning it back to him, before standing and staring out the window at the moonlit city. "But there's no doubt now. Dark Skies is back to operational status. And it seems like with or without Amber, er, Knightshade, they're still plotting something, and it has something to do with Wilt, Blush, and the Wraith Drive." He turned back to the Xiao Longs. "I wanted you to know this, and wanted to tell you right now to not even think about going out on your own. Especially you, Yang. It took me nearly every favour I had to call in to keep you out of prison, and the rest to keep your daughter out. I don't need you throwing that away in an attempt at ill-gotten vengeance. We're going to continue surveillance, and wait to strike when the time is proper. Until then, am I clear?"

"Yes, sir." The two said in unison.

"Good." He collapsed back into his chair, his head hitting the desk. "Now go back to bed, please. You both have classes to teach tomorrow. Jeez, going into boss mode makes me tired."

"You get some rest too, Jaune. We'll talk about this this weekend at the meeting, I presume?" Blake said.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, forgot to tell you guys. Ruby's coming back to Nikos for the meeting and staying for awhile thereafter. Apparently Weiss is out of bed now, so she's able to hold down the compound and take care of Echo enough on her own. She'll be here in time for the meeting."

"Yes, Ruby's coming back!" Yang shouted, suddenly full of life. "Fuck, it feels like it's been months since I saw my baby sister."

"Maybe because it has been." Blake teased, the two getting on the elevator. "Goodbye, Headmaster, see you tomorrow."

Jaune waved lazily from his desk as the elevator doors shut, and it begun to descend. Blake turned to Yang as they made their way down.

"You're awfully lucky Jaune was facing the desk. You're a decent liar, but your body language was a dead giveaway."

Yang merely chuckled, turning to Blake, her deep crimson eyes meeting Blake's. "Was I that obvious?"

"Aside from your eyes, I'm just going to say I'm glad the metal in your hand is galvanized."

Yang unclenched her metal fist, which had been tightly balled since hearing the news.

"So…" Blake said, "are we going to do something, is the question I guess. I suppose we could call Victor, see if he-"

"No." Yang sternly replied, earning a surprised look from Blake. "As much as I hate to give the guy credit, Jaune's right. We can't just throw away our second chance like that. We'll wait for the Team's decision."

"Look at you, not rushing into combat. How out of character." Blake joked.

"I just think that our kids deserve two parents, even if one of them has to be me, y'know? Besides, there has to be some Yin to my Yang." Yang grinned like an idiot and Blake's groan. The elevator doors dinged and opened on the first floor.

"For that one, you're on the couch when we get home." Blake said as she walked off.

Yang froze for a moment, contemplating the gravity of that sentence. "Hey, babe, wait!" Yang said, running after Blake as the elevator doors shut behind her.


	14. Hitting the Town

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Jay awoke naturally, and not to either the shriek of Donovan's alarm, or the rousing he and Alice often had to do when she slept through said alarm. She sat up and stretched, yawning rather loudly as she did so.

"Ah, the weekend!" She said as she stretched. "Finally free from all those-"

Jay cut herself off upon looking around and noticing she was the only person in the room, the other beds empty, and more surprisingly, made.

"-classes?"

She got out of bed, moving to the door, when she heard noises coming through it. Opening the door, she found the door to ASNL's room cracked. She heard not only ASNL's voices, but her own team's as well, and one she didn't recognize through the door. She decided that curiosity outweighed the consequences of being seen straight out of bed, and opened the door the rest of the way. She immediately saw both ASNL and SAJJ seated around a folding table, along with the unexpected golden mane of Professor Xiao Long-Y. The group was holding cards, and stacks of chips sat in front of everyone but Sienna, who's face and arms were on the table, seemingly in some sort of defeat, and Alice, who was wearing a visor and was dealing cards. The group had turned to stare at her, aside from Sienna, and it was Porfirio who broke the awkward silence.

"Well, look who's finally rejoined the land of the living!"

"What on Remnant… Professor?"

"Hey Jay!" Yang said, "Good to finally see you outside of class again. How're ya doing?"

"Good…" Jay said. "Are you all gambling… _with_ a professor?"

"Weeeeeell, it is the weekend, so I'm _technically_ not a professor right now, just a rather irresponsible mom playing poker with her kids and their friends." Yang said. "Booyah, two pair! Beat that!"

"Full house." Donovan said, calmly flipping his hand over.

Yang's head joined Sienna's on the table. "I'm failing you this semester, Stormbringer."

"Oh? I thought you weren't a professor right now?"

Yang grumbled as laughter echoed throughout the room.

"Anyway," Nero said, "we were just killing time til you got up, Jay. Get ready, we're hitting the town."

"Really? What's the occasion?" Jay asked.

"We're bored teenagers on a weekend?" Jahim said.

"You kids have fun, I have to get ready for a meeting." Yang said, beginning to get up and walk out. Suddenly she turned around to face Nero again. "Oh yeah, almost forgot the reason I came up here in the first place! Nero, Your mom's coming back into town today."

"Yang, you're gonna have to be specific. I have two of those." Nero replied sarcastically.

Yang's eyes narrowed. "I've taught you well, young one. My baby sister, Nero. Ruby's coming back."

Nero's eye's widened, his smirk fading. "Mom's coming…"

Porfirio waved his hand in front of the now frozen Nero's face, who didn't respond. "Alright Mom, you're in the clear to leave, he's gone." Yang nodded and silently slipped out of the room before Porfirio slugged Nero in the shoulder, the latter shouting in pain.

"What was that about?"

"You ready to head out or what?"

"Oh, y-yeah, everyone else?"

"I've gotta go get ready, I'll be back in a bit." Jay said, walking out.

"Well, everyone else further?"

There were general murmurs of acceptance, when all eyes turned to the eerily silent Amber, who had drifted off to sleep. A nudge from Donovan woke her up, the startled girl looking around rapidly before questioning what was going on.

"You ready to head into town?" Donovan asked.

"Y-yeah." Amber replied. Donovan nodded, returning to SAJJ's dorm with the rest of his team to go get ready.

"You look tired, Amber," Sienna said, looking intently at her. "What were you up to when you left last night?"

"Oh! Erm..." Amber said, surprised that Sienna was awake and noticed her leaving to go hunt with Donovan last night. "I was…" She blushed slightly. "It wasn't anything major."

"Okay, what's everyone doing?" Porfirio said to the others, all of them standing in the square in the commercial district. "We splitting up?"

"Well," Nero said "I'm off to the Four Maidens. Brownman is playing there and I've got to go see that."

"Oh fuck yes, I'm going to that!" Porfirio said.

"Me too~" Sienna said.

"Brownman?" Amber asked, thoroughly confused.

"He used to be in a boyband called Achieve Men waaaaaay back in the day, like when our parents were still in Beacon." Nero said. "Brownman went solo after awhile, and has a pretty successful career singing ballads."

"Good on him I guess. Ballads aren't really my thing though, so you guys go on ahead with that." Alice said. "I'm going shopping."

"Aren't you blind, babe?" Jay said.

"Not clothes, birdbrain. I'm going to Velvet's. See if she's got any new handcannons in stock."

"Oh, I should go too and pick up more crystals. I'll tag along." Jahim said.

"Well, I have errands to run, namely I need a new file." Donovan said, feeling the tip of one of his horns. "These things are getting a little too sharp. I'm going visit your shopping center." He turned to Amber and Jay. "Would either of you two want to come?"

"Pass." Jay said. "Not a mall kind of person. My wings are out, after all. Last thing I need is some dumbass kids pulling feathers on dares."

"I'd just get us lost, I still have no idea where anything is in this town." Amber said. "Plus, I wanted to visit the communications tower and see if the Rose Dust Company heads have any news for me."

"Oh, you bet your good ear I'm coming for that." Jay said eagerly.

"You sure?" Amber asked.

"C'mon, what's the worst that could happen?" Jay said.

"Alrighty," Nero said, seeing everyone had made plans, "Airship to Nikos leaves at 6, so meet back at the airdocks by then. Bye, all!"

Everyone went their separate ways, Jay and Amber entering the communications tower and entering the elevator to the top floor. Amber looked up at Jay.

"Soooo, why _did_ you want to come?"

"Well, it's kinda embarassing, but I just wanna see how your story ends."

"Is this like when you were hitting on me when we first met up before you knew I was straight?"

"Nonononononononononononononononononononono, no, no." Jay said, her face beet red and Amber giggling like an idiot. "I just… Gah! You're an ass."

"Okay, what was the real reason?"

"Well," Jay said, attempting to compose herself, "I beat a terrorist leader, she turns out to be a cute faunus girl-"

"I'm cute, eh?"

"Shut the fuck up. Anyway, she turns out to be a missing person, with all these people in her family. And her parents saved the fucking world! That's why I tagged along, even back then. I just wanted to see where this crazy story went. Turns out it involved someone as hot as me, too."

"And there she is." Amber chuckled. "We're not even to the phones yet, and I've learned something. So someone e- someone finds me cute." Amber barely caught herself, her speech stuttering. "S-surprising."

"Someone else?" Jay enthusiastically said. Amber winced as Jay picked up on what she let slip partially. "You out seeing someone, kitty cat?"

"Of course not!" Amber said defiantly, it being her turn to furiously blush. "I'm team leader! I don't have time for that!"

"Right, right. So, what's his name?"

"I'll cut you, Merletta."

The elevator doors slid open, and the two of them sat at a terminal facing the elevator bay before being connected to the RDC. The clerk appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Rose Dust Company, how may I - oh, miss Amber, how can I help you?"

"I just came to ask for an update on Dark Skies, or anything that's cropped up recently involving anyone that might be…. y'know..."

"I understand. Hmm…" the clerk clacked away on her keyboard. "There are reports of a masked bison faunus in two separate crimes in Vale, but there aren't any other factors connecting them to Dark Skies' leader or even eachother." The elevator doors dinged in the background. "Sorry, miss."

"No, that's okay, I'm sure info will crop up eventuall-"

Amber was cut off by Jay poking her in the arm, and then pointing to the figure who just walked off the elevator. The man was a bison faunus in a black mask and longcoat, and a shirt with an icon of a hoof with three slashes across it. On his hip was a dark metal pack, covered in switches and humming softly, as well as a sheathed sword hanging on his lower back. Each of his fingers ended in a metal claw, which were visible as they closed around the front desk receptionist's neck and jerked it to the side with an audible crack. He stepped over the desk, sticking a scroll into a computer. All of the calls in the hall suddenly disconnected, and all of the screens turned red.

"Am, remember when you asked what's the worst that could happen?" Jay said.

"Yeah?"

"This. Exactly this. This is like one of those cartoons Jahim likes."

"Looks like we're the superheroes, then." Amber said, a grin slowly forming on her face as her eye colour changed to match the monitor in front of her.


	15. Terrify

"You sure you know where we're going, Alice?" Jahim said, looking around the unfamiliar sight of the Vale commercial district. "I mean, not to be _that guy_ , but-"

"Please, Ja-, Oh, dammit."

"What?"

"I just realized I need a new nickname for you, considering we have a new Jay now that gets rather upset if you call her anything else. I'll think of something."

"What's wrong with my name?" Jahim said, almost offended.

"Too long, hard to say in quick scenarios. Like the Boss' name."

"What do you mean too long? It's two syllables!" Jahim scoffed. "And why _do_ you call Donovan that anyway?"

Alice snickered at the question. "Cause he gets pissy when I call him Don. C'mon, we're here."

Jahim looked up at the sign over the store. The sign always made him chuckle, being a simple brown sign with _Velvet's_ written in golden cursive. With a sign like that, combined with the bubbly woman who runs the place, it was hard to believe that this was the premier weapons shop in Vale. Jahim followed Alice in, and was immediately greeted by the sight of the titular faunus, clad in her apron stained with some form of oil or lubricant, and immediately had his picture snapped by her. Around her, decorating the store, were weapons and ammunition of all types, from blades to enormous gatling cannons.

"Alice! Great to see you again!" Velvet excitedly said, placing the camera down on the counter. "How's my number one customer doing after one week at Nikos?"

"We're doing well, Velv, doing well." Alice said. "You remember Jahim, right?"

"Hey, Ms. Scarlatina. How's Ms. Adel doing?"

"Coco? She's in town, actually. Taking a break from shooting _RWBY IV_. I'm looking forward to seeing her and Yatsuhashi again." She sighed, before shaking her head and turning back to the two of them. "So, anything I can pull out for you?"

"I was wondering if you had any new stock for semi-auto handcannons, or anything like that." Alice said.

"Actually, that reminds me, your visit is well timed. I finished your commission this morning. It's upstairs, let me go grab it." Velvet disappeared into the back room of the store, leaving Alice and Jahim alone in the store. Jahim moved to the section of raw Dust, grabbing an assorted handful of contained crystals before noticing a framed photograph amidst the swarm of unframed ones. It was a picture of what looked like two complete teams, team RWBY amongst them. Coco Adel, Professor Daichi, and Velvet herself were all there, along with who he presumed to be the Fox Alistair he had read about, smiling around Velvet as she held the camera aloft in front of herself and the others to get them all into frame. It was almost strange, seeing his elders at his age, right before the Fall. As he gazed, Velvet returned with a small case in her hand, which she promptly set onto the table. Alice walked over as Velvet opened the case, withdrawing a long barrelled handgun, a gleaming silver barrel coated in black kevlar casing.

"Here she is, built per your specifications. Had to base the internals off of some constructs I made from ages old photos, and some of it is hand made custom, like the barrel. Breech loading, single shot, .950 caliber rounds. I tested the shock absorption on constructs of your arms, and they took the recoil entirely. Your shots will go where you point them, guaranteed. Thaaaat being said, don't let, well, anyone else fire this. It's tailor made to your augments, and if someone with a real arm tried to fire it, it would probably turn their bones to dust, if not tear their arm off." Velvet shuddered at the thought. "I'm actually not legally allowed by Vale to call this a gun. You're buying a certified 'destructive device'. I tested it on a Ursa in the range downtown, and it didn't end well for it."

Alice took the gun in her hand, orienting it so that she could use her semblance on every inch of the weapon. She saw that Velvet had gone through the effort to engrave the phrase she had requested onto the barrel, deep enough so that her semblance picked it up; the words _A Huntress Named…_ were present on the gun, in Velvet's elegant script.

"Everything's perfect, Velv. I can always count on you for these things. How much are spare rounds, by the way?"

"Well, there's 8 in the case, and they have to be custom tooled, else the gun'll just misfire. I can make more, but it's a few hundred Lien per round. Had to make them without any kind of combustion, 'cause propelling that caliber with a blast made a fireball that melted half the steel reinforcers I used to test it. Air dust worked quite well, but it's not cheap these days, and it's louder than a Goliath. Use them only when you really need too." She sighed. "I'd been awhile since I've made a weapon I can't copy. Not since I made By Any Other Name with Ruby."

"Oh, Ruby's coming into town too, over to Nikos." Alice said.

"Yeah, I have to go too. Big meeting, most senior Hunt members are attending."

After Velvet spoke, an enormous, thunderous explosion-like sound echoed through Vale, immediately seizing the attention of the three in the shop. Alice and Jahim turned to Velvet, who nodded and turned on the television that was hung on the wall, flipping it to the news. The headline said _Terror Attack at Comm Tower_ in big letters, and showed an enormous dust plume settling over an enormous pile of rubble that was once the Vale Communications Tower. Velvet's hands immediately clasped over her mouth in a terrified gasp, Jahim looked at Alice, her expression one of terror at what she had just heard.

"We… we need to go there now." Alice said. "Jay and Amber… and the others aren't gonna hear it in that club!" She grabbed Jahim by the jacket. "We have to go, now!"

"Y-yeah…" Jahim turned to Velvet. "Ms. Scarlatina, call Headmaster Arc, or the others, or anyone, please."

Velvet nodded, and Alice holstered her new firearm before running out of the store and down the street with Jahim. She found herself wishing more than anything that Jay and Amber weren't hurt.

"Some first week, huh?" Jahim said as they ran full tilt at the site of the explosion. Alice's blank visage failed to make a response.

Far before the explosion occurred, Jay and Amber were crouched behind their terminal at the communications tower, peeking glimpses of the terrorist as he watched the monitor at the front of the room. He was simply standing there, arms folded across his chest as whatever the scroll was doing unfolded. Amber turned to Jay from their crouched position.

"You have anything to fight with?"

"Please," Jay said, removing her outer jacket to reveal Transcendance's pack hidden beneath it, "I don't go anywhere without my suit. Better question is what are you going to do, without your sword?"

"I can't call it in from here. We either have to get outside and a two dozen stories down, or I'm barehanded for this."

"Considering you're stronger than me _with_ my suit on, seems fair." She quietly engaged the suit, which quickly engulfed her frame. She snapped the helmet shut, the carved form of a bird skull on the visor now staring back at Amber. "I'll do my best to distract him. You see if you can't stop whatever it is he's doing."

Amber nodded, and Jay rose to her full height, her altered voice shouting from across the room. "Hey jackass! Care to stop whatever it is you're doing, or do you need a little encouragement first?"

The terrorist turned to face her, his red eye lenses staring directly at her. He unfolded his arms from in front of him, instead clasping them behind his back. He begun to speak, his voice edited in a much harsher, more scrambled tone than Jay's.

"Ah, another sympathizer, this one even a rare avian brand. I thought we killed all of you off in the Mistrali raids ages ago."

"Mistrali raids…" Jay said, pausing in confusion. "You're with Dark Skies!"

"You're pretty smart for a sympathizer. Good job, you've earned your death." He stepped forward a small amount, and laughed shortly. "Come on, stop me."

Jay charged forward upon the invitation, attempting to deliver a punch to the terrorist's head that was swiftly avoided. Aggravated, she attempted a high kick, which was simply ducked. Her third blow, a punch again aimed at his face, was instead caught by a hand that had moved almost too swiftly to see.

"Are you even trying?"

Jay merely responded with a further flurry of attacks, each dodged or parried like the others. As this happened, Amber stalked her way through the isles of consoles, making her way to the front counter. As she walked, low to the ground, she took a glance at the fight to her left.

"Alright, I think that's enough playing with my food." The terrorist said as Jay moved in for another swing. This time, instead of catching the blow, he ducked it and countered with a fierce jab to Jay's chest, knocking her backward somewhat. He continued the offense, delivering an assortment of slower, savage blows that Jay was having a hard time blocking effectively. Amber turned away from the fight, placing an earpiece into her ear and dialing a number on her scoll. She was connected to the Vale police.

"Vale PD."

"This is Nikos student Amber Xiao Long." she whispered, trying not to draw the terrorist's attention. "I am currently engaged with an armed criminal who is fighting with my fellow student on the top floor of the comm tower. He has altered the programming of the consoles in an unknown way, and I am attempting to reach the console he started on and discern this. He also appears to be a part of the anti-human terror group Dark Skies. Backup is more than likely necessary."

"Understood. We're sending a squad now."

"Thanks." She hung the call up as she reached the counter, and looked at the screen, as well as the scroll, both of which now read 'COMPLETE'.

"Complete?" Amber said, far louder than she had intended. The Terrorist's vision snapped to her, which gave Jay an opening to finally land a blow to his jaw, knocking him backwards. He merely chuckled as he regained his composure.

"Ah, Knightshade. I was under the impression that you were dead. Thank you for helping me with this." He pushed one of the many switches on the metal pack on his hip, and the machine inside whirred to life, the hum becoming far louder. He disappeared, and within an instant reappeared next to Amber, who he grabbed by the neck, lifted, and threw at Jay, the two colliding and hitting the wall nearby the giant bay windows. He withdrew the scroll from the console, replacing it in his pocket.

"Now that I have what I'm here for, I don't have to waste time playing with you two anymore. I am on a strict schedule, after all." He withdrew a slender detonator from his coat. "Goodbye again, Knightshade."

Jay's eyes went wide beneath her visor upon seeing the detonator. Her instinct kicked into overdrive, and she grabbed onto Amber as tightly as she could before diving out of the large bay windows, manipulating the Air Dust in her pack and using her wings to fly with Amber to a nearby rooftop. The two landed, but were immediately knocked down by a shockwave as the building behind them detonated from within, and begun collapsing onto itself. Plumes of air and dust cascaded down nearby streets, the windows of all buildings in the vicinity shattered, and when the dust cleared, the debris of the fallen tower lied scattered all across the square. Jay and Amber both lept down to the ground level, to survey the damage. Jay disengaged her helmet, a look of shock on her face.

"Th… there was no way they evacuated this place. All those people… Amber?"

Jay had turned to her friend, her face showing intense anger. "Dark Skies… They really are back."

"Right again. I knew we made you smart."

Amber turned around in time to catch a punch square in the face, a crunch audible as the bones in her nose shattered. She fell to the ground, blood pouring from her nose, as the terrorist turned his attention to Jay, who had begun to charge at him. He pressed another panel on the pack at his hip, and his figure became partially opaque as the charging Jay simply passed right through him in her attempt to deliver a blow, falling to the ground. He then pushed the same switch, his body returning to what it was, before stomping on Jay's head, knocking her unconscious. Amber, who had begun to get up, was pinned down by a powerful foot on her chest. The terrorist looked down at her.

"I was really hoping you'd die in that explosion. The fact that you know I'm from Dark Skies is troubling. It isn't a big deal, though. I'll just kill you here, set an example for what happens to you damn sympathizers." He drew the sword on his back, the crimson blade gleaming. "You're nothing more than human filth for siding with them."

As he drew the blade upward, a shot rang out, and the blade flew his hand as blood began to pour from it, the terrorist screaming. Amber grabbed his leg and flung him off of her, before rising and looking in the direction of the shot. _Alice?_

Faster than she could see, a figure cloaked in crimson surged past her, withdrawing a long bladed, single edged sword with a black handle and ornate carvings decorating the blade. The figure swung at the terrorist, who had retrieved his sword and deflected the blow before hitting the switch on his panel to become opaque again. The cloaked figure delivered a flurry of strikes that were almost too fast to discern, all harmlessly passing through the terrorist. The cloaked figure noticed this and backed up, their form becoming more noticeable to Amber. It was a limber woman of moderate height, clad in a black combat dress with red trimmings, and black pants that were accompanied by black combat boots. Her face, however, was obscured by a red hood that was connected to the cascading red cloak that flowed with the wind. The terrorist sheathed his blade, before pressing another switch on his panel. A pool of black appeared underneath him.

"I didn't anticipate you calling in the cavalry. Well done, Knightshade. Go on and tell them Dark Skies is back. With the information I have, it hardly matters who does."

He chuckled to himself, before falling into the pool beneath his feet, which promptly disappeared. The cloaked figure moved to the unconscious Jay, again almost too fast for Amber to see, and kneeled down to check her vitals.

"She's breathing, and her neck's not broke, so she's in good shape. Well, good for being stomped on and all. We should probably get her to a hospital just in case though." Her voice was very familiar to Amber, sending her reeling.

"Ruby?"

The figure turned to Amber, and removed her hood. Locks of black and crimson cascaded down to her shoulders, and a single silver eye, along with a black eyepatch over her left one, looked back at Amber.

"Amber!"

Before she could react, Amber found herself in a gentle hug, embraced by her aunt, who quickly pulled back.

"Are you okay? Your nose looks broken."

"Well, it is. Is Jay alright?"

Ruby stepped back, compacting her sword and replacing it on her back. "Yeah, like I said, nothing life threatening. Is she a fellow student?"

"Yeah, she's on my friends' team." She placed her hand to her nose in an effort to stifle the bleeding. "Thanks for saving us."

"Comes with the territory. I see evil, I kick its butt." She looked past Amber, to the destruction. Her tone became much less chipper. "I just wish I'd come sooner…"

"He had them pre-planted. You coming sooner might have gotten you killed."

"Yeah… yeah you're right. His reaction time was real good. Even I probably ain't fast enough to stop him."

"How… how was he able to do that? Turning intangible and even teleporting"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna guess that's what the meeting is about. If not, it will be, trust me." She suddenly gasped, her eye going wide. "Was Nero with you? Is he okay?"

"He's at The Four Maidens, Ruby. He's safe."

"Amber! Jay!" a voice suddenly shouted out, prompting Ruby and Amber to turn and see Alice and Jahim running towards them.

"More friends?"

"Yes. They're with Jay's team, actually."

Jahim stopped at the two of them, panting heavily, while Alice ran straight past them towards the downed Jay.

"Is she…"

"She's fine, just knocked out." Ruby said.

"You're both alright?" Jahim asked. Amber nodded in response. "Good. I had Velvet call Headmaster Arc, and I called Donovan and the others. Headmaster's sending an airship now."

"Good." Ruby said. "You guys have earned some rest. I'm gonna go on ahead. I'll meet up with you guys tomorrow, when I know more, okay?"

"Sure thing." Amber said.

Ruby smiled and nodded, before vanishing, a flurry of rose petals scattered around where she once stood, falling softly to the ground. Jahim's eyes moved toward the destruction.

"Who… who on Remnant could've done this?" He said.

"The people who took my memories."

Alice and Jahim both snapped to Alice.

"No.." Alice said.

"You don't mean…" Jahim gasped.

"Yes, I do. Dark Skies is back, and they just stole something that was worth blowing up a comms tower and killing hundreds to cover their tracks."

That night, high in the towers of Nikos Academy, the elevator to the Headmaster's chamber rung. Off of it stepped Ruby, into a room now occupied by a long table surrounded by chairs. In each of them sat elder hunt members, all but Oolong Ruby's former classmates and comrades. Some chairs were empty, but other than Ruby's and Weiss', this was intentional; rather than fill a member's spot when they die, their spot is left empty, a permanent reminder of the loss. Weiss thought it was morbid, but Ruby liked it, thinking it a respectful tribute to those who had fallen, rather than a reminder of failure like Weiss did. Currently, out of the 21 chairs, 10 lie empty, though 2 of them were intended to be filled by Ruby and the absent Weiss. As Ruby sat down, many of the others were having a conversation around her.

"Y'know," Sun said, his tone less humour-filled than usual, "this table gets emptier every time we call one of these things."

"Well," Ren said, composed as always, "we are doing dangerous work. Everyone here knew what they were signing up for."

"Doesn't make it suck any less." Sun said, looking at the empty chair between Neptune and Scarlet, prompting Velvet to look at the empty chair between her and Coco, a frown forming on her face.

"I'll drink to that." Yang said, raising a glass full of what Ruby assumed was hard liquor and taking a drink.

"Yang, can you please not drink at the meeting?" Ruby asked. "We're talking about serious stuff here. Like what happened downtown with Amber."

"My kid almost dies, and you're asking me not to drink? Ain't you a mom too, Rubles?"

"Alright guys, everyone's here that's coming, so quiet down." Jaune said. "Let's get down to business. We've got a bunch of stuff to talk about. Most importantly, what happened earlier today. I'm officially calling the 17th meeting of RISE to order."

Ruby looked at Jaune, and then out the windows. _It's gonna be a long night_ , she thought.


	16. Mask

The night after the attack, the silence within team SAJJ's dorm was deafening. Jahim had donned headphones, attempting to drown himself in anything but the news as the audio of internet videos hit his ears. Donovan, having had no exposure to the event, was doing the opposite, burying himself in all the information he could dig up, especially considering a bison faunus matching his people's description was the apparently the culprit, and it could very likely be someone he knew. Alice was simply shocked into silence, having no idea how to even respond to what had occoured, or that almost lost two of her closest friends. Jay was absent entirely, having isolated herself for the entirety of the time since she woke up in the infirmary and was let out with only an advisory. Suddenly, Jahim pulled his headphones off, audio from whatever he was watching spilling into the room and drawing the attention of the others.

"You guys wanna go get some food and, uh, talk?" Jahim said. "I'm no psychologist, but I'm pretty sure us just sitting here isn't healthy. At the very least, we could talk to Oolong. His office is always open, right?"

"Oolong's at that meeting with Mrs. Rose and the Xiao Longs, so I'm willing to bet he's not available." Donovan said. "That being said, I agree that what we're doing isn't good for us." He stood up. "Let's go eat."

"What about Jay?" Alice asked, slowly rising from her bed.

"She hasn't responded to my messages, so I've no idea where she's at." Donovan said.

"Mine either. Hope she's alright." Jahim said.

Alice paused. "I'm gonna go look for her. You two go on ahead."

"If you say so." Donovan said. "Do you have any idea where she would be?"

"Knowing her, I have an idea." Alice said, before walking out of the room, and towards the gym.

Alice assumed her guess had been right when she heard grunts filtered through voice alteration software echo through the gym. As she walked in, she spied Jay's form, fully armoured, beating on a sandbag in the corner of the gym. Most surprisingly, her helmet was on, explaining the sounds she heard. Alice walked up to Jay, who was apparently so in focus that she didn't even notice her until she spoke.

"You doing alright Jay?"

"Fine." The voice modulation made Jay's voice deadpan, and she didn't even move from what she was doing. She simply continued to punch the bag.

"Boss and Jahim are grabbing food. You want to come with us?"

"Not hungry."

"Hey, why don't you take off that mask?"

That statement was the first to garner a reaction from Jay, her last blow lingering on the bag, and her body holding the punch's position.

"Why should I?" Her tone seemed to get even colder. Alice was startled by the question.

"W-well, you don't need it on to train, do you?"

Jay resumed punching the bag. "I should train with it on to grow more accustomed to it, considering I wear it during encounters with actual lethal threats, like today."

"Why… why do you have that voice stuff on your helmet anyway?"

"Assists in masking my identity. My armour's plating is designed to make me appear like a man, and the voice mod goes hand in hand."

Alice was shocked at the notion. "Why do you need to pretend you're a man, Jay?"

"People fight against men differently than women. Strike different areas, amongst other things. I fight barehanded, so I need every advantage I can have when I'm on the battlefield."

"Well, you're not _on_ the battlefield, Jay." Alice was nearly shouting. "You're with friends. If you need to talk about earlier today, please-"

"I don't need to talk. I need to get stronger." Jay spat as she begun hitting the bag even harder.

"Jay, you need to talk, probably more than any of us." Alice said. " _Please_."

Jay reeled back, and punched the bag with enough force to tear the bottom half free, sending it and the innards of the bag scattering around the gym floor. She returned to an upright position.

"276."

"What?"

"276 is what they estimate the death toll at right now, and it's probably risen since I last read the news. More than 276 people died because I wasn't strong enough to beat him. More than 276 funerals have to happen because I failed."

"Jay…"

Jay pressed a button on the side of her helmet, finally retracting it. "T-there." Her voice was shaky and sniffly, her eyes and nose red and tears welling in her eyes. She fell to her hands and knees, staring firmly at the ground. "I was the one fighting him, Al. I made the plan, it was all me. It's my fault. How… how do I face you guys after that? How do I go back to trying to protect people when the first time I'm tasked with it, It goes like that?"

Jay was surprised to find a pair of metal arms wrap around her waist, Alice having kneeled down to hug her from behind.

"Y'know, a really smart girl once told me that bottling shit up is only going to make it hurt more. Jay, please just talk to me. I won't tell the others if you don't want me to. You don't have to tell me everything. Just, please, talk to me."

Jay took a deep breath before speaking. Her voice was still shaky as she spoke. "What do I even say?"

Alice let go of Jay, to walk around and have Jay face her. "Jay, why do you wear the helmet, for real this time."

Jay sighed deeply. "It removes me from the equation. The mask eliminates my face, my voice, everything."

"Why do you want to remove yourself, Jay?"

"You can't see them, Al, but I'm completely coated in scars. Head to toe. Each one is a reminder of a failure, and I still sometimes find a new one when I look in the mirror. I can repair or buff out scratches on my armour. The armour hides the scars. Hides the failure. But the skin, the girl that I am, I have to hide her away. I can't fix my skin. I can't buff out the failure. I just cover it, and hope no one sees." She curled into a ball, tucking her knees up to her chest. "Hope no one sees the big mean girl whose entire thing is being strong and badass is crying alone because she failed."

Alice put her hand on Jay's knee. "Jay, I understand that this is traumatic, and I can't really begin to put myself in your shoes, but every huntsman or huntress fails, and it's not always without harm. How do you think Ruby lost her eye, or Yang her arm, or how Blake got her scar?" She moved her hand carefully to Jay's face, wiping a tear away. "You're way more than some strong girl, Jay. You're a mechanical genius, you're funny, you're caring, and you're my partner. You're allowed to let other people see you cry, Jay. You're allowed to fail. It's all about how you respond to it." She stood up, offering a hand to Jay. "And I may not have known you too long, but I'd like to think the girl who makes hot chocolate in the middle of the night just to soothe a friend who's afraid, the night after flipping a cliff face, can bounce back from this."

Jay smiled as she took Alice's hand and was pulled back up. She folded her armour back into her pack. "Some first week of classes, huh?" she said, wiping her eyes. "We've both had to pull each other out of sobbing states, and that's not even the half of it."

Alice laughed. "C'mon, let's go get some food, talk, and pretend the world isn't ending."

The two walked out of the gym, heading towards the cafeteria to join their teammates.

"And for what my blind opinion is worth," Alice said, focusing on the outlines of Jay's body her semblance saw, "you should wear sleeveless stuff more. Your muscles look good."

Jay looked at her arms, realizing she'd discarded her jacket at the tower, and that her scar riddled arms were exposed for all to see. A hint of red that Alice couldn't see cropped up onto her face, and she thought maybe she'd keep it off for today.


	17. Leaders

Team ASNL's dorm was less quiet than SAJJ's if only for Sienna's presence in the room, playing a videogame with Nero in an attempt to distract themselves. Porfirio sat at his desk, swirling a tall glass of dark red wine, his third that night, with the bottle lying closeby. Amber had fallen back to a process of stress relief other than smoking, which was deep cleaning the mechanics of her sword and armour, a large bandage present over her broken nose. Sienna cheered in celebration of a victory, but the twins remained stalwart-faced, unable to shake the thoughts of what had happened earlier from their minds. This lasted until a knock on the door caught their attention, Sienna standing up to answer the door. At the threshold stood Jahim, his hands in his pockets.

"Hey guys, uh, I dunno about you all, but we were gonna go get some food and kinda talk about all this. You, uh, wanna come with?"

"Yeah!" Sienna said, "I'm pretty hungry."

"I think talking about this is a good idea." Nero said, standing up. "Guys?"

"I suppose I should eat something." Porfirio slurred. "I'm getting too drunk to be on an empty stomach."

"I'm not sure that's how it works, Porfirio." Amber said, her gaze unmoved from her weapon. "Go ahead without me. I dislike leaving a job unfinished. I'll drop in after Cascade's clean."

"You sure?" Nero asked, seeing as the person who usually looked over Amber was stumbling drunk.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry, I'll be here." Amber said, smiling softly. Nero nodded, helping Porfirio out of the room, Sienna following close behind. Amber continued to clean her weapon for a small while longer before she gazed up to see if anyone was still around. Satisfied in her judgment that the room was clear, she quickly finished the cleaning and reassembled her blade, using the Magnetic stand she brought with it to prevent the weight from bucking the floor. She quickly flung open her closet, and swiftly donned the armour she had stowed inside. She snapped the last strap on her boot when she heard a voice that startled her.

"Lying to your team? Hardly behavior fitting a leader."

Amber snapped to attention, turning her head to the doorframe, where Donovan was leaning against it facing away from her. His arms were folded in front of him, but she couldn't see his face. She assumed he was smiling the smug grin he always did.

"Honestly, how many times are you gonna startle me when I'm alone? It's almost like you're psychic or something."

"Hah, that would be some semblance. I wonder if there's anyone who can do that? I read in a book on the Fall about someone who could influence what people see."

"Yeah, Emerald Sustrai. She got Yang and Pyrrha to do some terrible things." Amber said, sitting on her bed. "Granted, not as terrible as shit Yang or I ended up doing on our own, but enough to make Yang into a public enemy." She leaned to the side slightly, trying to see Donovan's face, before huffing and sitting upright. You can come in, you know. I'm in my armour, it's not like I'm naked or anything."

"If you insist." Donovan walked in, sitting on Nero's bed next to Amber's facing her. "Why do you do that, by the way? Call your parents by their first names? You catch yourself normally."

"I have a… strange relationship with my mothers, considering I was, er, what's a good word for it… made, I guess, to kill them."

"What do you mean by that, made to kill them?"

"It's… complicated. I really don't feel comfortable talking about it. Forget I mentioned it."

"Okay."

Amber was genuinely surprised at the response. Donovan must've caught her feeling in her expression, as he chuckled softly after looking at her. "What, did you expect me to pull teeth, getting you to talk it out?" He shook his head. "I do think you need to talk, but it isn't about you existing to kill your parents. Amber, why were you going to leave?"

"Leave?" Amber said, feigning shock as she attempted to throw him off. "I wasn't going to leave."

"Amber, you were cleaning your 3,500 pound weapon in your dorm room, meaning you lugged both it and the magnetic levitation gear necessary to do that up here, along with your armour, which you _hid_. You had no reason to do that unless you wanted it all close to other essentials, as if you were planning on leaving quickly. And I'm willing to bet you've had your fill of death for one day, so I'll bet you weren't heading off to have another hunt." He leaned in slightly closer. "Amber, why were you going to run away?"

Amber sighed. "When you say it like that, it makes me feel like a little kid." She scratched her feline ears, running her hand over the jagged flesh on the edge of her damaged one. She sighed again. "I was going to leave because I… I don't feel safe around you guys anymore."

"What? What do you mean you don't feel safe?"

"The attacker was from Dark Skies, I'm sure you've heard that, right?"

"Yes. That's pretty widely publicized."

"Well, Dark Skies was the group that, well, made me into Knightshade." She paused. "They assumed I was dead when my cell was destroyed. In reality, that was when Jay drug me out of it and brought me back to civilization, but they didn't know that." Her voice began picking up speed, her tone becoming a bit more frantic. "But now they do. Now they know I'm alive. They know I'm in Vale. They know I'm at Nikos. They know about Jay, they know her face." Her eyes went wide, her hands gripping at the sides of her head. "They're coming for me, I'm an asset they want back. They're going to wipe my mind again, they're going to tear the city apar-"

"AMBER!"

Amber froze, a powerful set of arms gripping her shoulders. She looked up to see Donovan had stood up, and begun shaking her to try to snap her out of it.

"Amber," Donovan said, panting slightly, "you're losing control of yourself. I said your name at least 4 times before I resorted to grabbing you. You're panicking. Calm down."

Donovan expected Amber to not immediately react, maybe to still be in somewhat of a state. What he did not expect, however, were Amber's arms wrapping around his waist, and her pressing her head into his chest as she pulled him into a tight embrace. She began to sniffle, her voice wavering as tears began to stain Donovan's shirt.

"I finally have a family again. I have Yang, and Blake, and Porfirio, and my friends, and I have… you. I'm finally beginning to live again. I don't want you all getting hurt when they go through you to get to me." She hugged him tighter. "I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose any of you."

Donovan wrapped his hands around her head, shushing her softly. "This isn't then. You have me, you have my team, you have your team, you even have your parents and all of the Hunt. You're not going anywhere." He pulled back to took her in the eye. "Not while we've got anything to say about it."

He pulled her back in, and they remained hugging for several minutes, until Amber pulled away, softly smiling as she wiped her eyes. "Hard to imagine a former battle hardened terrorist is the girl you've had to talk out of her own head twice now, huh."

"I think it makes plenty of sense, actually."

"Huh?" Amber said, genuinely confused at his statement.

"Well, you said it yourself, what Dark Skies told you was a bunch of nonsense. You weren't really fighting for anything, just going through the motions, because that was all you knew. But now, you've gotten the taste of what life is like. Now, you've got something to fight for. And you want nothing more than to hold onto it with everything you've got." He smiled. "If anything, I'd be worried if you weren't full of stress." He stood up. "C'mon, get out of that armour. Our teams are probably wondering where we are by now."

Amber nodded, smiling as she walked out of the room with Donovan, moving towards the cafe.


	18. Heroes

"Fuck, I thought that meeting was never going to end." Yang exclaimed as she, Blake, and Ruby walked into her's and Blake's quarters, a spacious apartment in Nikos' hightower.

"Well," Blake said, sitting on their long couch in the main room, "there was a lot to talk about, and it probably would have gone a bit faster if you hadn't brought a drink with you."

"Hey, it takes a lot more that to get me plastered." Yang said, walking to their kitchen. "Speaking of, drinks, anyone?"

"Wine." Blake said.

"You guys have any milk?" Ruby said, rapidly consuming a package of cookies she had produced from her bag around her shoulder while joining Blake on the couch.

"Rubes, c'mon."

" _Fine_ , I know you have rum in there. Weiss won't let me drink it at home."

"There's my sister." Yang said, pouring the two drinks and setting them down next to the others before sitting down on the recliner next to the couch, beer bottle in hand. "Speaking of, how is that Ice Queen of a wife of yours?" she said, popping the cap off.

"She's a lot better, though she's _really_ mad at me for coming out here. Echo's barely a month old and I had to leave for this, and stay for quite awhile, judging by how much stuff Jaune wanted me to bring."

"Oh, I almost forgot about Echo." Blake said, turning to Ruby. "Do you have a picture I could see?"

Yang briefly froze before regaining her composure. "Yeah," Ruby said, reaching into her bag and pulling out her scroll. She pulled up a photo of the newborn, showing it to Blake. "There she is, barely a day old."

"Wow, she's so beautiful, Ruby. She has your eye-" Blake froze as well, suddenly realizing the issue. "Ruby, she has your eyes."

"Yeah, it is kinda a big deal, isn't it?"

"That kid's got a hell of a future ahead of her, if your story's any indication kiddo."

"Hey, don't 'kiddo' me Yang! I'm almost 40!"

" _Fuck_ , if you're almost 40, that means I'm almost 42." she leaned back in her chair. "We're so _old_!"

Blake and Ruby laughed at Yang's cries of anguish at their expended youth. "Please, Yang," Blake said, covering her grin with her hand. "It's not like we're out of our prime."

"Easy for you two to say!" Yang said, throwing her arms up into the air. "One of you apparently stopped aging at 22, and the other can move faster that the speed of goddamn sound if you try hard enough. Meanwhile, all Jaune lets me use is this." Yang lowered her left arm, leaving only her prosthetic arm in the air. "And this isn't even the good one!"

"Well, the colours on it look cool," Ruby said, absent-mindedly devouring sweets that emerged from her seemingly bottomless backpack whilst admiring the yellow and black paint job on Yang's civilian grade prosthetic arm. "Plus, if you had Lawbreaker out all the time, that'd be bad news for someone eventually."

"Yeah, certainly handed you your ass back then, didn't it?" Yang laughed, taking a long drink. "Hell, we haven't fought since the Fall's ended. Wonder if I can still beat you."

"Doubt it. I am the savior of the world, and all." Ruby said, grinning triumphantly.

"Yeah, yeah, and we're just a couple of ex-cons trying to go legit, aren't we, babe?" Yang said, looking towards Blake.

"Some of us are trying harder than others." Blake snarked, sipping more of her wine.

"Ah, shaddup. Only reason Jaune's not on your ass is cause he doesn't know you were right there with me, babe." Yang said, laughing slightly. "Man, it has been a longass time since that fight. You remember that, right Ruby?"

"Yeah, though I kinda try not to. Not the best time of my life."

It had been just under 5 years since the Fall of Beacon, since Cinder and her cohorts had devastated the landscape in their lust for power, and had fractured both teams RWBY and JNPR. Nearly 5 years since the remaining four of them formed team RNJR and set out to right whatever wrongs they could. It had been 5 years...

And only now were they finding their first lead towards, well, _anything_ since Haven.

"Ruby," an exhausted Jaune began as they walked into the still-ruined Vale outskirts, "are you, uh, 100% sure we can trust this info of yours?"

"Don't worry guys," Ruby said, walking at the head of the group, "I know for a fact we can trust this."

"How can you be so sure?" a doubtful Ren asked.

"Yeah!" Nora yelled. "You really should never be 100% on anything."

"It's from Uncle Qrow. He's the one that said the Dragons got Blake."

Everyone shuddered at reminder of the supposed news, especially at it's nigh confirmation. Qrow's intel was always reliable.

"Well," Ren said, "at least that means this trip wasn't wasted, if that's true."

"Still," Jaune said, looking more nervous, "what are we going to do? The Dragons aren't exactly known to be, uh, nice. And it's not like we're all at 100% here."

Ruby sighed, feeling the bandage that was tied around her scarred, now empty left eyesocket, the memory of the failed fight with Cinder surging back into her mind. Her thoughts moved towards the stories she'd read and heard of the Dragons. They were a brutal crime syndicate, who had appeared 2 years after the Fall, and systematically taken over almost all of Vale. While they had something of a code of honour, and avoided crimes disparaging the innocent, they were still violent terrorist-like criminals, that, mysteriously, had been searching for Blake Belladonna almost their entire existence reportedly. The gang had had a frankly worrying bounty on her head of several hundred thousand Lien, that had apparently been cashed out. Blake had been found by the gang a few weeks prior. Ruby and the rest of RNJR hoped that nothing had happened, as they ventured into the gang's territory. The group halted motion when they heard movement from the side. Suddenly, a cylindrical object was hurled into the group from the shadows. Ruby recognized the make and model of the object instantly.

"Flashbang! Get down!"

The group averted their eyes as the explosion surged above them, sparing their vision. The group began drawing their weapons, but as Nora nearly finished drawing her launcher, the butt of a rifle collided with the back of her head. As she begun falling, a strong, metallic left hand gripped her skull and smashed it into the ground, rendering her unconscious. The group turned to see the figure, a large, bald man wearing a black mask over his mouth and nose, and bearing a pair of cybernetic arms exposed by a sleeveless jacket decorated by straps of different grenades and magazines for the large assault rifle he carried. He snapped his attention to Jaune, beginning to fire his weapon at him. Jaune raised his shield to block the shots, running forward as he did. Ren and Ruby moved to rush in as well, but their attention was drawn by the sound of rattling metal. Ren turned, and managed to quickly deflect the surging blade with one of his pistols. The blade was a slender, curved blade attached to a firearm, which was further attached to a chain that looked to have been wrapped around the arm of the nearby assailant, a slender looking woman clad in form-fitting leather clothes, and her entire head obscured by a deep violet shroud and a pair of black glasses. Ren dashed forward as she drew her blade back to her hand, producing a similarly shaped larger blade in her other hand, and locking blades with Ren. As Ruby drew her vision towards the other enemy, it was immediately drawn in front of her as a third person landed in front of her with a giant thud, a large, bulkier woman, clad in a yellow leather jacket that flapped in the wind, black pants, and a helmet resembling the skull of a reptile covering the entirety of her face. On each wrist was a black gauntlet, both of which unfurled and armoured up to each of her elbows, barrels connected to visible ammo reserves visible coming from the front of each. Ruby thought the weaponry was eerily familiar as she begun to draw Crescent Rose, it's mechanical transformation beginning. As it did, the larger woman fired blasts from both of her gauntlets, surging her forward as Crescent Rose continued unfolding. Right as the blade begun to expand, the woman stopped herself, and grasped the weapon in her right hand.

"Too Slow!" she exclaimed, as she closed her grip, crushing the weapon like it was paper. The crumpled pieces fell to the ground, and as Ruby watched in horror as her weapon was destroyed in front of her, she was launched backward as the woman's left arm connected with her abdomen and discharged a round. Ruby landed several feet backward, struggling to get up. As she did, she looked around, the destroyed remains of her beloved weapon lying in front of her. To her left, she watched as the assailant fighting Ren deftly blocked his attacks, before wrapping her chain around his neck and slamming him to the ground, knocking him out cold. She snapped her attention to Jaune, who was struggling against the man with the rifle. He turned to Ruby as his shield collided with the man's gun.

"Ruby, run!"

He attempted to slash at the man, but the man caught his blade in his left hand, and snapped the blade in two. He kicked Jaune to the ground, who turned to Ruby. "Go!" he shouted, as a boot collided with his temple. Ruby turned, and begun to use her semblance to run away. The large woman shot a blast at her feet, and used further discharges to propel herself ahead of Ruby, before landing in front of her. The landing created a crater in the street, launching Ruby into the air. The woman caught her neck in her left hand, and opened her right, which Ruby noticed to be a cybernetic arm, the fingertips clawed and what other metal from it she could see decorated in rough spines. The center of it begun to glow and crackle with electricity, and the woman jabbed it into Ruby's stomach, before letting loose a shockwave from the palm. Ruby felt a surge of pain across every inch of her body, and a sound not unlike shattering glass was heard. Her single eye went wide, and the woman removed her hand from her gut, letting go of Ruby and letting her fall to the ground, barely conscious. She looked up at the woman, who merely chuckled at the sight of her crumpled form.

"Silver-eyed warrior, huh?"

Ruby thinks she said something else, but a boot hitting her in the head knocked her out before she could process what it was.

When Ruby finally stirred, she found herself chained to her chair. Her mind immediately wondered what had happened, and once the memories returned to her, she immediately began tugging on her chains, attempting to break free and help her friends.

"You're wasting your energy, kiddo. Once Red Daemon ties someone up, they're not gonna move."

Ruby's attention snapped to the woman who had entered the room from the door in front of her. It was the same masked woman from earlier, only without a jacket, revealing a sleeveless shirt that showed off her extraordinarily well toned arms, and the full form of the wicked looking cybernetic that had rendered her useless.

"You're in pretty damn deep, kiddo. The name's-"

"I know who you are," Ruby said, her voice stalwart as she stared the strange looking mask in the eye. "You're Stardust, kingpin of the Dragons."

"Hey, you've done your homework. Good on ya, I'm sure you'll ace the test."

"What have you done to my friends?"

"They're fine, in similar predicaments as you, all getting questioned." Stardust pulled a chair from the corner of the room and sat down, crossing her legs and leaning back. "I've instructed my guys not to hurt 'em, but with Red Daemon and Black Rose, who knows, man?"

"What do you want from us?"

"Two things, mostly. One, the prime question, is what the fuck 4 Huntsmen are doing in our territory without sending word ahead, or anything."

"We… received word on something. We heard the Dragons had found one of our friends. We were hoping we could trade intelligence."

"Oh, is that all? Because 4 Huntsmen armed to the teeth like you 4 were waltzing head on into the Dragons' turf doesn't exactly convey 'intel brokering' kiddo. But, I'll bite. Who're you looking for?"

"Blake Belladonna."

There was a brief pause, and then Stardust begun to laugh. Ruby felt the same eerie feeling of familiarity as she did when watching her fight. Stardust finally managed to recover her breath.

"Well, that rolls right into my second question, then."

"W-what?" Ruby was feeling an intense amount of confusion.

Stardust reached around to the back of her mask, and undid a latch Ruby couldn't see. Instantly, a large mass of blonde hair flowed out of the opening. She removed the rest of the mask, and Ruby could only stare in absolute shock at the person sitting before her. Sitting in front of her, her captor, the one who had destroyed Crescent Rose, was her own sister. She stared into Yang's eyes, which burned a fiery crimson. What scared Ruby the most was that Yang was smiling wider that she had seen since Beacon.

"N-no way… Yang?"

"Hey, you're two for two."

"What… what's going on? What are you doing?" Tears begun to form in Ruby's eye. "Yang?"

"Hey, I'm the one with the questions here." She chuckled lightly. "Ruby, why are you still out there?"

Ruby was taken aback by the question, by the unmasking, by everything. "I-I… I need to beat Cinder. I'm the only one who can do-"

"Bullshit. I just handed you your ass without even trying, and I'm not even a Maiden. And I'm willing to bet that that," Yang said as she pointed to the bandage that acted as Ruby's eyepatch, "didn't happen from hunting grimm. I admire the tenacity, Rubes, but sometimes, you've just gonna learn when to quit."

"Yang…"

"They won, Ruby. Cinder won. She got the powers, Pyrrha's dead, Penny's dead, and Vale was a mess before my boys and I took over. We lost. The only thing we can do now is rebuild what we can. And maybe do a little good on the side while we're at it."

"I… I can't believe all this. Yang, you've killed people. You're a terrorist."

"Ruby," Yang said, her expression darkening, "if you four had been any other people, I would have killed you all on the street. It took a lot of convincing to Red Daemon to not kill you even after that."

"But… but we were supposed to be Huntresses! Heroes!"

"You're not letting go of the past, Ruby. Face some fucking facts for once. If you can't beat me, how the fuck do you expect to bead Cinder?" Yang's anger was showing through. She attempted to calm herself. "If you want to know the truth," she said, standing up. "Blake's alive. She's working with me here. She's faced reality, Ruby. I'm sure Weiss has too."

"But… you know the stories! Huntsmen have-"

"Real life isn't what's in the damn storybooks, Ruby! It's what's outside. And what's outside right now is a world we can't save. I'm making my living in it. All you four are doing is marching towards death, just like the rest of the Hunt." She raised her arm, and shot off the chains, letting Ruby free. "We're… we're letting you four go. My boy Power Tool even managed to repair Crescent Rose, though it's in rough shape. Just… go home, Ruby. Patch is safe. Just go, and don't throw your life away."

Ruby stood up, wiping her tears away. "You know I can't, Yang. What…" She looked up at her sister. "What do I tell them?"

Yang picked up her helmet. "Tell them Blake Belladonna is dead." She replaced her helmet, Yang disappearing again. "And while you're at it, tell them Yang Xiao Long is dead too."

"Yang…"

Yang turned and left the room, leaving Ruby alone, and too stunned at what she had learned to even move. She fell to her knees, and sobbed.

Ruby shuddered from the memory, returning to the present and a large swig of her rum. "I'll be honest, Yang, that talk in that dark room hurt more than losing my eye."

"Yeah, that was a pretty dark time, huh? I ended up eating my words pretty hard."

"Yeah," Ruby said, looking at Yang. "I'm just glad we're all good guys again."

"Rubes, I hate to tell ya, but there's more to being a good guy than working with Blondie McParagon upstairs." Yang said, looking back at her sister. "Me n' Blake going legit, at least for now, doesn't magically not make us bad guys. We're just opportunistic ones."

"No need to be so harsh, honey." Blake said, setting her now empty wineglass down. "We are doing good. We're just wolves in sheep's clothing that happen to like the fit. Plus, I never was one for the way the Dragons carried out their assassinations."

"Yeah, yeah. You say that, but you're forgetting how badass it was when I punched Taurus' ass so hard he exploded."

"How romantic a thought to have before bed." Blake teased.

"Ugh, are you guys gonna-"

"No, Ruby, not while you're here." Yang said, chuckling a little bit at her sister's still youthful mentality. "Your quarters'll be refurbished and shit by tomorrow, but until then, you can just crash here. The couch's plenty comfy. Night, Rubes."

"Goodnight, Ruby."

"Night, guys." Ruby said, before the lights went out around her and her family walked out of the room. She grabbed a blanket and pillow sitting on a nearby shelf and prepared herself for sleep, hoping whatever the future brought, that it was a sunnier one than what had happened today.


	19. Eye of the Storm

It was nearly midnight as teams SAJJ and ASNL walked back to their dorm rooms, talking softly so as to not rudely awaken other teams they passed by. Amber stood next to Donovan at the back of the group, observing her friends as they walked and talked. Alice and Jay stood close to one another, talking about Alice's new firearm she had gotten. Amber swore that she saw their hands linger together for a moment, but it was too quick to tell. Jahim and Sienna were engrossed on a discussion on the newest fighting game to come out, though Amber couldn't make heads nor tails of a single thing they were saying. Nero was busily attempting to carry Porfirio, who had blacked out at their midnight meal. Amber looked down to Donovan, who was merely smiling. Amber smiled too, as the teams reached their dorms.

"Alrighty, I gotta get P here to bed," Nero said, shifting the sleeping faunus on his back. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

Amber brushed her arm for a moment, before speaking up. "Actually, there's one other thing I want to talk about. I didn't wanna talk about it at lunch, but I think I have to."

Nero immediately looked up at her. "Is something wrong?"

Donovan put his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, we're here. What's wrong, Amber?"

"Well," Amber begun, her nerves reemerging. "You all know about who's behind this, right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Dark Skies." Alice said. "The terrorists who took you back in Vacuo."

"Yeah. Them." Amber said, looking down. "I fell asleep in the clinic after they dressed my nose. And I had a nightmare." Her grip on her arm tightened. "I dreamt that Dark Skies had put latent mental programming into me that they could activate with some phrase. I just... went berserk. You all thought I was friendly, and I massacred you all. It's why I was going to run away." Everyone's faces, save Donovan's were suddenly indicative of shock. "I know better than to do that now, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a real danger. Dark Skies could go right through you to get to me, or this nightmare could be real, or any number of things. I just… I just wanted you all to promise me that if I get taken again, or they do someth-"

"Alright, alright, enough of that bullshit." Jay said, leaning against the wall.

"Jay?" Amber asked, turning to her friend.

"Lemme just guess," Jay said, her eyes closed and a smirk on her face. "You want us all to say we'll kill you if they take you again. That you'd rather die than have us all get killed trying to protect you, that it?"

"I…"

"Thought so." Jay chuckled slightly. "You remember when we first met back up after that duel? After you met everyone again and you sought me out in the forest?"

"Yes, I-"

"Hush," Jay said. "You said something to me then. Wanted me to do something, which is a weird request for someone who lost the fight. Remember what that was?"

Amber swallowed hard. "To not let me forget again."

"I thought it was weird, you asking me that the first time we met outside of trying to kill each other. But it left an impression. One that made me wanna be friends with this weird girl. That lead me here, and to everything that's in front of me right now." Jay stood up smiling wide as she could. "So I'm not promising shit. I don't plan on breaking the first one. I'm a little too invested in my best friend to let her get taken again."

Amber stared at Jay in disbelief, unable to think of what to say.

"Yeah," Jahim said, "if you think we'd just fall over and let them take you again, you're dead wrong."

"You're family, Am," Nero said. "I'm not letting any more of our family get killed like Qrow."

Donovan chuckled slightly, before turning to Amber. "It's like you already forgot that talk we had. You're too paranoid for someone of your strength, Amber."

Amber smiled softly. "It's hard not to be paranoid when you have so much to lose."

"Hey!" Sienna exclaimed, "We're a team, and they're a team, and the 8 of us are like some kinda super team! Once we're all trained up, There isn't anything that'll stop us!"

"Sienna, keep your voice down." Amber sternly replied, much to the laughter of the others. "What?"

"Nothing, Am," Jay said, opening the door. "You're just funny is all." Jay, Jahim and Alice walked into the room, while Sienna and Nero, still carrying Porfirio, entered their own dorm room. Amber turned to Donovan, who was smirking and attempting to hold in his own laughter.

"Am I funny?"

Donovan composed himself. "No, you are merely just contradictory in your behavior sometimes. You tend to switch from worried to leader to battle frenzied without warning. I'll chalk that up to your ingrained battlefield habits."

Amber folded her arms. "You try switching to civilian life after knowing nothing but combat. Being loud gets you killed."

"Well, if you wake up Professor Xiao Long-Y, I doubt that that is far from the truth. Goodnight, Amber." Donovan said, smiling as he entered his dorm room. Amber smiled, her cheeks reddening as she entered her own dorm room, and shut the door. She was then shocked into nearly jumping into the air when Sienna and Nero stood pointing and snickering at her.

"What?" The faunus asked in her defense.

"You like Donnie." Sienna said, the words dripping out of her mouth like a schoolchild taunting another.

Amber flushed in embarrassment. She had to save face, and fast. "Well, uh, of course, he's a great friend, and a strong leader. He's quite influential in my-"

"C'mon Am, you're about as subtle as Porfirio right now." Nero said, pointing to Amber's twin brother, currently snoring loud enough to wake the entire school should she open a window. "There ain't anything wrong with having a crush on someone."

Amber looked away, striding to her bed. "You're just making connections where there simply is none."

"I dunno," Nero said, his grin widening. "You sneaking out at night without a word or explanation hardly indicates that 'nothing's going on' especially when SAJJ's door opens around the same time."

Amber froze. "We… we merely go on late night hunts to clear our heads." She knew she had lost, and sighed in defeat. "Tell no one. Especially Porfirio. I'll kill you both."

Nero raised his hands, laughing loudly. "Okay, okay. We're tight lipped." Nero laid down, still snickering. "Still, it's good to see more liveliness out of you. You could do far worse for yourself."

Amber groaned before burying her face in her pillow, sleep eventually taking them all.

*****  
Far from the city limits of Vale, lies the Living Mire. The Mire is of unknown origin, and unknown; indeed, the only thing that's known about it is that those who enter are never heard from again.

All, that is, except for those who serve Lady Knightscape.

The terrorist strode confidently to the Mire's edge, knowing as long as he remained outside of it, it would not harm him. He depressed a switch on the panel on his leg, turning him intangible. He begun to walk through the Mire, his feet leaving ripples in the dank swamp water as he moved through the dense treeline. As he moved, the Mire, critically, did not. Everyone who served the Lady had their means of reaching the center of the Mire. Before, the terrorist had to rely on his own semblance to get to the center, and would need a day's rest after reaching the Lady's base of operations. This was his entire motivation for stealing the Wraith Drive; anything that was conducive to him serving the Lady more efficiently was to be taken.

The terrorist chuckled to himself, wondering how a mere human like the Lady could have enraptured him into servitude so easily. His other co-workers were all Faunus, to his organization's glee. However, the Lady herself was mystifyingly human, especially given the goals she worked toward. The terrorist knew better than to second guess the Lady's judgment. He had already angered her by losing Knightshade, and questioning her word would only result in his termination.

The terrorist reached the center of the Mire, and found a simple concrete platform with an internal steel platform nested within, hidden underneath the trees. He stepped onto the platform, disengaging the Wraith Drive. He was safe on the platform, and was underground as well. The platform took him to a sublevel far below the surface, where he entered a large door to find the Lady herself sitting at the end of the room, the other 2 members of Dark Skies seated around the table she headed.

"Knightmare, how nice of you to finally arrive." said a small man in a metallic, reflective mask and a pressed suit.

"Curb your tongue, Knightmist." Lady Knightscape said through her white helmet, obscuring the entirety of her head. She was adorned in similarly coloured plate armour, made from wood and reinforced with steel. The armour was more a traditional suit then used for added protection. "Knightmare," she said to the terrorist who had just walked in, "what is your report from the Vale job?"

"I bring numerous pieces of news, my Lady, both good and bad." Knightmare said, bowing low before walking to the table. "First, the information you requested." He withdrew the scroll he used to hack the Vale communications tower, sliding it down the table where it came to a stop in Lady Knightscape's hand. "The second piece of news is, unfortunately, Dark Skies' activity has been noticed and reported in Vale. Other nations are slower and have not begun airing the news, but there is no question that Arc has told others."

"That is of no concern. We could not operate in the shadows forever."

"And, lastly, there is a matter that I once thought closed, but has suddenly reopened."

"Hm?" the Lady looked up from the terminal she had begun using to read the data stolen.

"While taking the data, two students from Vale's academy attempted to stop me. While, unfortunately, I was injured when a third party intervened," he raised his bandaged hand for emphasis, "the third party was none other than Vale's Champion huntress herself, Ruby Rose. She has apparently begun active duty again."

"Oh, if only it were possible to contain her," the last person in the room began, the hinged jaw of her wicked looking, skull resembling mask snapping shut as she spoke, "she would make an excellent agent. My semblance would just do wonders to that pretty little head of hers."

"We cannot afford to take such a prominent figure, Knightsnow." the Lady said. "Amber Xiao Long was already an enormous gamble, and it ended disastrously. They would pursue that woman to the end of Remnant. And I know for a fact that the enemy has more than one person capable of making it through the Mire."

"If I may continue, it's funny you mention Knightshade, my Lady." Knightmare said, smirking beneath his mask. "Of the two students that intercepted me, one of them was none other than Knightshade herself. And, in some cruel twist of fate, the person with her was Visage, the person responsible for our Vacuo branch's downfall. To think that not only is Knightshade still alive, but that the person that resulted in our prior defeat is also just a kid, it's crazy."

"Indeed it is. We shall investigate that matter further." Lady Knightscape said, as the terminal made a soft ding noise to indicate that the file was decrypted. The Lady saw it, and immediately began to laugh. What was stolen was merely one single file, that contained four names. The file was unlabeled, but if it was pulled from where it was supposed to be pulled, it was what they were searching for. On the file was a list of four names. Two of them the Lady did not recognize, and would be sure to research though. The other two, however, were ones she knew very well. The next to last name was the Lady's own, which she presumed she would have to reveal at some point. Lastly on the list, in large letters, was YANG XIAO LONG

The Lady continued to laugh. _This will be even easier than I thought._


	20. Birdsongs of Summertime

Sunlight cascaded through the windows of the gymnasium, the ample summertime light being more than enough to illuminate the room for the only two people inside. The sound of grunting and metal clashing on metal echoed throughout the gymnasium as Alice and Amber spent their final day of break after their first semester sparring all out against each other. Jay sat in the stands watching over to ensure the fight was within bounds, and because of the fact that should they both become incapacitated, Jay was the only one strong enough to carry them both. She marveled from her seat at her partner's bionic strength, blocking Amber's strikes from her massive sword with her Handcannon barrels, and moving herself in ways to get shots in in between parries. Their aura readings were fairly even, with Alice having a slight edge, since there was almost nothing Amber could do to stop her point blank shots other than let her aura and armour stop them before continuing her pressure. Amber's semblance, however, had reached a fever pitch, her momentum allowing her to move at incredible speed while maintaining impact forces that strained Alice's prosthetics more and more. Alice's pace was entirely static, dictated by her cybernetics, and it was beginning to lose out. Sensing this, she pushed with full force on her next parry, shoving Amber and her a fair distance apart from each other. Knowing that her guns were empty and that she had no time to reload, in addition to needing a change in strategy, she flung the empty cannons at Amber. Amber swatted them away with her left hand in time to see Alice following the tossed guns, an enormous, long-barreled revolver now in her right hand. Amber reacted too late, even with her semblance at full drive, and Alice quickly reached down and fanned the entire cylinder into Amber's stomach. The proximity, calibur, and volume of rounds combined with the surprise factor shattered the remainder of Amber's aura, knocking her to the ground. Jaw swooped down to the arena, clapping her hands as she did.

"Nice work, Al. Didn't know you were a gunslinger." Jay said, as she walked over to the still down Amber. She extended a hand down to her. "You alright, kitty cat?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Amber said, clutching her abdomen as she took Jay's hand. "Gah, those rounds hurt. That'll bruise for sure."

"Sorry, I forget sometimes that this thing is a bit bigger than the others." Alice said, reloading her revolver before replacing it in it's holster on her back, and then collecting her two primary Handcannons from the ground and placing them in their easy to reach front slots.

"There's no need to be sorry, Alice." Jay said, replacing her sword on it's mag-lock on her back. "I was hitting you with enough force to break bones. I'm glad you don't have those, else you could've gotten seriously hurt." Amber's comment prompted a snicker out of Jay, to which Amber turned with a quizzical look. "What?"

"It's just kinda entertaining to see both side of Amber Xiao Long at once." Jay said, shaking her head. "Snapping from brutal military-like combatant to mom friend so quickly."

"As opposed to being a loudmouthed bird mercenary 100% of the time?" Alice said, chuckling as she begun to drink some water. Jay snapped her vision to Alice, who began to laugh. She may not be able to see Jay's face, but after knowing her for several months now, she could always tell when Jay made one of _those_ faces. "I'm off to the forge to inspect my arms and make sure nothing's wrong with 'em. I'll see you two around."

The other two waved before taking a seat on a bench, Amber stretching as they sat. The two looked out the window at the clear summer sky, hearing birdsongs through the opened window. Amber smiled at the sound.

"Can you sing, Jay?" she said, eyeing a rather beautiful looking brown bird on a tree near the window.

"What, like birdsongs or like actual music?"

"Either, really." Amber said, closing her eyes and enjoying the chirping melodies. "I just sometimes forget our heritage. I have to be reminded occasionally that neither of us are human."

"Yeah, I'll chalk that up to Vale not being a steaming pile of shit." Jay said, looking over the scarring on her arms. "I went out a few days ago, wings out in a sleeveless top, even. It was like nothing was different. Heh, bet in Atlas I'd've been arrested for that."

"Oh, how scandalous!" Amber said, her tone sarcastic and mocking. "That beast is flaunting their animal appendages! Call the constable!"

"The fuck's a constable?" The question prompted them both into a fit of riotous laughter, only managing to recover from it after several minutes. "Gah, look at us." Jay continued. "We're talking like old war dogs with all this shit about forgetting where we come from and stuff, and we're not even eighteen. Can you imagine us as old women?"

"If Yang's stories are any indication, from the mere two years I've experienced them, then woe to our kids."

"Yeah," Jay said, chuckling lightly. "One of us survived raiding and torture from terrorists, and the other was fucking rebuilt as a living weapon. If we live long enough to have kids, they're _fucked_."

Amber found herself laughing, and sighed. "I suppose it's good that we've become able to laugh at our pasts, huh?"

"Fuck man, look at our friendship!" Jay said, putting her arm around Amber's shoulder and pulling her in. "First time we met, we fought in that damn forest for hours, doing nothing but trying to kill each other. Now, we're sitting here talking like we've known each other since we were kids."

"An ex mercenary and an ex terrorist becoming best friends and joining the good fight sounds like one of those daytime dramas Porfirio's always watching while he day drinks."

"Hey! There isn't anything wrong with day drinking!"

"There's a lot wrong, both with it and both of you. Honestly," Amber said, scratching her feline ears, "I've got no idea how Donovan can put up with you and Alice at the same time."

A smirk formed on Jay's face. "Maybe he's got a strong anchor keeping him sane."

"Have you talked to Donovan?" Amber said, scoffing at the statement. "He hardly needs anyone keeping him rooted. Guy's the most down-to-earth person I kn-" Amber froze, turning to meet Jay's now titanic smirk head on. "What are you implying, Merletta?"

" _Nothing_ ~." Jay said, stretching her wings and arms as she stood. "Just that you and my leader have been sneaking out at night every week for six months, and have been sitting together at lunch all the time, and-"

"Who told you?"

"Please, hon. I'm your best friend. It's my job to know who you're-"

"Who?"

"Nero. He said he wanted me to keep an eye on Donovan, or something."

"That short little _fuck_." Amber said, her eyes beginning to flicker.

"Hey," Jay said, chuckling to herself. "I thought it was cute. Your family cares about you to the point where they worry even a good friend may hurt you. Plus, you should see the way he looks at you, man."

"What?"

Jay laughed at her friend's quizzical tone. She pointed at her crimson eyes. "These bird eyes see all, Am." she said, her tone becoming jokingly serious. "And they see that you two are peas in a damned pod." She looked out the window, spying a small, white bird, before sighing. "Y'know, I'm glad that Tower incident was the only thing that happened last semester. I enjoyed having this break to just be… normal. Just normal teenagers in the spring. You and Don doing, whatever the fuck straight people do, and me trying and failing to find a nice girl. It's weird, like it's new and nostalgic at the same time, y'know?"

"I think I do, yeah." Amber said, rising to her own feet. "There's a lot to look forward to this semester, though. The dance, our first missions, even the Vytal festival."

"Oh yeah, the Vytal Tournament is happening!" Jay said, fist-pumping upon remembering the news. "Finals'll be me and you, calling it now."

"Unlikely."

"Aw, why not?"

"Well, for one, assuming my team makes it to the finals, I'm not sending myself. Porfirio's always been better than me."

"Okay, that's fair. I've never been able to beat him either."

"And two, you forget Tahir Farid is in the running too. It'll almost definitely be him versus whoever makes it that far."

"Aw, fuck that guy. Only person in the entire goddamn school other than Daichi that's bigger than me." She scoffed. "I could take him. Fucker doesn't know 'bout my semblance."

"Jay, _you_ don't know about your semblance."

"Well, we'll have to work on that, eh kitty cat?"

Amber smiled. "You betcha. I'll have you handing that goliath his own beard before the semester's up."

"That a promise?"

"You know I don't make statements I don't mean."

The two high-fived before leaving the gym, birdsongs once again overtaking the empty air. Jay turned to Amber as they walked down the hallway.

"And for the record, I _can_ sing. Toss me a guitar sometime. I'll jam on that shit all day."

Amber merely chuckled as the two continued down the hall, towards wherever they decided to go next.


	21. Consultation

The sun hung low in the sky as Donovan walked down the hallways that held the offices of the different staff and instructors at Nikos Academy, bar that of course of the Headmaster's office. Donovan looked at the names on the doors, many closed and locked, either with their owner away on their last day before classes or residing inside the offices, doing last minute work. He saw the most recently occupied office's door shut tightly, the words "Ruby Rose, Professor of Weapons Technology" and chuckled to himself. He reflected upon his meeting with Mrs. Rose early after the attack on the Comms Tower, and how angry the other Mrs. Rose must be right now.

Donovan and Amber had fled to the Emerald Forest three weeks after the attack, on one of their now habitual midnight hunts. Donovan operated almost alarmingly well on low sleep, and Amber hardly ever slept to begin with, so it hadn't put any kind of hamper on their daily lives. In fact, many had noted Amber changing for the better; she was overall in better moods, and sunk into her more depressive states less often.

Donovan, perched high in one of the trees looking through the scope of his united spear-rifle, lowered his gun at the sound of a crash and flesh being torn apart. He gazed downward to see Amber's armoured frame pulling her goliath blade out of the Ursa corpse at her feet, before shouldering the blade. She was stood in a small clearing, moonlight reflecting off of the brass of her armour, highlighting the emblem of a Crescent Moon slashed across by three claw marks that was located on her right shoulder. She turned to right, moving her attention to a noise she had heard, giving Donovan a view of her face. Her harsh features were twisted into a smirk, her eyes having changed from their usual golden shade to a deep crimson. Amber said unlike her mother, whose eyes changes with her temper, her own eyes changed with her fervor. It was rare to see her with crimson eyes outside of battle, outside of the time she was caught staring at an enormous fish buffet the same way she stared at a beast to be killed. Donovan chuckled slightly, his mouth forming a smile as he looked at her. He leapt down from the branch, moving closer to Amber and walking with her as she attempted to track the source of whatever was garnering her attention.

"That was a good kill." Donovan said, noting the grisly red smears on Amber's sword, still resting on her shoulder. "It baffles me how you're able to wield Cascade as you do. You handle it like it weighs nothing."

Amber smiled, shifting the blade slightly. "Well, chalk it up to being one part Xiao Long, one part Belladonna, and one part evil terrorist experimentation." She sighed, trying to keep the smile on her face. "You know, this body isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Donovan's face twisted into an expression of mild shock. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for one thing, I use way more energy than I used to. I have to eat a tonne to simply maintain my weight. Also, my muscle density is insanely high. I weigh close to 400 pounds on my own, at 6'1" and 0% fat. You have any idea how hard it is to find women's clothing that fits me in this city?"

"If Jay's words are any indication, perhaps I do." Donovan said, chuckling to himself.

"Ah, Jay takes the easy route, she just wears men's stuff. Granted, if you can find me a place selling a dress that'd fit that Crow, I'd probably be able to find some cute stuff in there for myself."

Donovan begun laughing harder. "The famed terrorist Knightshade, talking about purchasing cute dresses." He composed himself, a huge grin still present on his face. "I enjoy these hunts with you more and more each time. You are a most interesting person."

Amber's face began turning red as she hiked the blade on her shoulder up to an angle where it would obscure Donovan from seeing. Donovan, who had already seen, smiled until he heard what was unmistakably a gunshot from the west. The two turned and nodded to each other, before moving out in the direction of the noise, picking up their pace upon hearing several more shots and the telltale sound of steel on Grimm bone. Upon reaching the source of the noise, they saw only a whirlwind of crimson, as the red blur darted from Grimm to Grimm, it's wicked looking scythe carving them to pieces or discharging sniper rounds to rend through those further away. One the last one in the vicinity was felled, the blur landed, it becoming apparent that it was Ruby Rose, who's scythe suddenly became a sword that she collapsed and replaced on her back. She turned, and her expression changed from tense and stern to pleasant surprise as she saw, then subsequently materialized in front of Donovan and Amber, both of whom she waved hello to.

"Hey kids! Uh, what are you doing out here? It's kinda 11 at night, you know." She said.

Donovan laughed before responding. "I could ask of you the same question, Mrs. Rose."

"Aw, please, Donovan. I'm not your teacher or anything. Well, not yet anyway. Just call me Ruby 'til classes start."

"Wait," Amber said, the red beginning to recede from her face, "you're going to teach here?"

"Yeah, they're flying Weiss and Echo out and everything. She's a little, uh, upset about that. Too far from the RDC for her liking."

"Is the RDC not merely an airship ride away?" Donovan asked.

"Yeah, an all day one. Winter's looking over while we're here, but Weiss is still hesitant. Ever since her dad took Atlas over…" Ruby paused, before shaking her head. "Hey, quit distracting me! Why are you both out here so l-" a small smile formed on her soft features. "Oh! You two are secretly dating, aren't you?"

Donovan froze, feeling his own face grow warm. _Are we?_ He thought, time seeming to stop around him. The intent had never been romantic, in any of his endeavors. They were both team leaders, a relationship between them could be disastrous to their teams' performance. Yet, Amber had seemingly become dependant on him as a friend and confidant, and he even found the same in her. Still, could he simply come out and say there was nothing between them? Amber clearly held feelings, and they were far from unreciprocated. Yet, they had said nothing of the sort, done nothing of the sort, nothing at all. _What do I-_

"Ruby, we just come out here to relieve stress while honing our skills. Nothing more. It's helping me quit smoking, even."

Donovan turned to Amber, her face almost completely normal. He attempted to compose himself as much as he could. "Yes, I had been going on them the entire few months I've lived in Vale, and figured it was a better habit for her than actively destroying her body."

"Ah, I gotcha." She said, a knowing smile on her face. She began walking past them, when she stopped just past them. "Y'know, there's a clearing about a half mile east from this area, around a cliff face with an awesome view. Used to drag Weiss out there all the time while we were dating while Vale was rebuilding. It's quite pretty in the wintertime." With a slight chuckle, she vanished in her typical flurry of rose petals, no longer anywhere near them. Amber turned to Donovan, before quickly turning away.

"Er, quick thinking there." Donovan said. _Does this mean I was wrong?_

Amber was quiet for a moment, and when she replied, she spoke softly. "What do you make of Ruby's observation, Donovan?"

Once again, Donovan found himself frozen. He attempted to compose himself, sighing as he did. "I respect you too much to lie to you, Amber. I.. do hold feelings. I know you see me as a friend and confidant, and if-"

"Oh thank goodness." Amber said, sighing and chuckling softly. "So, I guess this just became a date then?"

Donovan felt relief wash over him. He began laughing with her. "I guess so."

Donovan found himself laughing again at the memory. It was a strange start, but it was a start to their relationship nonetheless. Donovan had discreetly left a bottle of rum at her door a few weeks later, as something of a thanks. He wondered if she had left yet, seeing as all of ASNL and their respective families were having dinner at the Ren's tonight as something of a celebration. SAJJ had been invited, but all of them politely turned the invitation down, each citing their own reasons, but most of it coming down to not wanting to impose. This left Donovan in a sticky situation, however, and left him with only one person to turn to. He reached the office of that person, Oolong's door kept open by a doorstop. The robot was writing at his desk, serene orchestral music softly playing from his computer's speakers. Donovan glanced at the paper from the door, silently chuckling at how his handwriting was so uniform.

"Hello, professor. May I come in?"

Oolong looked up at Donovan. "Greetings, Mr. Stormbringer. Yes, you may come in. Shut the door as well, if you could please."

Donovan did as he was told, shutting the door as he sat in one of the rather plush chairs in front of Oolong's desk. Oolong set his pen down, and placed his work aside, folding his metal hands together and setting them on the desk. "What brings you here, Donovan? Is something troubling you?"

Donovan scratched the back of his head, before replying hesitantly. "Yes, there is something troubling me. Oolong, may I confide something in you?"

"Of course. Nothing said will leave this room unless it absolutely has to. What troubles you, Donovan?"

"Well, Amber and I are… dating, I guess is the most appropriate term for it. We have been for months now. We've kept it under wraps, though I suspect that Jay's found out somehow, nothing gets past her eyes." Donovan chuckled, before sighing and continuing. "What's worrying me is with the semester coming up, our relationship could potentially be detrimental to our teams' and our own performances. During the last semester we were far less… serious than we are now. I find myself doubting my ability to place my responsibility first."

There was a fairly long pause until Oolong spoke in response. "Why do you only doubt yourself? Do you feel as if Amber is less committed to your relationship?"

"No, no, not at all. It's merely that Amber has a far more… personal connection to this journey we're on. Between her past, and those attacks during our first week, I have no doubts she has the conviction to continue on."

"Hmm," Oolong said, again pausing briefly. "Your choice of wording is interesting. Do you truly feel as if you lack conviction?"

Donovan shook his head slightly. "My journey began as a personal one, one of curiosity. Now, I find myself only occupied by my feelings for Amber."

"Do you feel that caring for loves ones cannot serve as motivation?"

Donovan was surprised at the question, finding himself unable to respond for a moment. Oolong merely chuckled in response. "May I explain myself with a short tale?"

Donovan nodded in response.

"Thank you." Oolong said, before beginning his story. "When I was created, I was not intended to present myself in the form I currently assume. I was coated in synthetic skin, my voice was far less synthetic sounding, and my name was 'complete' as they told me. I was created, or born, if you choose to interpret it that way, as Liao Oolong, the second synthetic human ever to exist.

"Unlike my predecessor, I was not informed of this. I was treated as an amnesiac, being told to lead out a life that was not mine, an experiment inside Atlas' laboratories. That was sixteen years ago, nearly seventeen. My date of completion, or 'birthday', as Alice is insistent on calling it, is in a few weeks. But, I digress. As I lived out my false life, one of the people closest to me was the person who, in the false life they constructed, was my neighbor, Eric Matlal. We became friends, and even lovers as my false life progressed. It was on the eve of the third year when he broke down, unable to keep the secret any longer. He told me everything was a falsehood, and that I was a being wholly unique in this world. It was, of course, shocking, and hard to believe, but it was the complete truth. Eric was able to engineer a plan that allowed the both of us to escape, and we traveled to Vale.

"I will not bore you with the specifics of our escape and journey, but when we arrived, Vale was far from the haven it is today. Movements for equality among faunus, like Eric, were weak, lacking structure or shape, and their most staunch defenders and figureheads were far away, on their own mission. It was then that I chose to appear publicly, to cast my skin and name aside, and to become who I am now. The life I had been given was ideal, with no evil or vileness in it. I knew that, after seeing what the real world was like, that world was far from the truth. However, I knew that, for the one person I cared for, differences could be made. One person was the motivation I needed to begin my journey." Oolong raised his left hand, a band of gold visibly contrasting against the grey metal of his finger. "Do you understand what I mean, Donovan? You say you lack purpose, yet you have one closer to your heart than anything else. Even if you are not here to gain the strength to protect the world, you can gain the strength to, well, Amber does not seem like she is in need of much protection. Perhaps the strength to fight alongside her?" Oolong laughed at his joke, Donovan unable to stop himself from joining in. He found his spirits were significantly higher than when he begun the conversation.

"Thank you for your story, Professor. It was very helpful."

"I am glad to aid you in your time of trouble."

"If I may ask, how is your husband?"

"Eric is well, his life tending to his small coffee shop suits him far better than one of combat like I lead. Among the few things I lament about my current form is my inability to eat or drink. I have heard wonderful things about his coffee. He was nervous about Alice attending the school, but Eric has always been protective of her."

"I'm glad he's doing well. I'll be sure to stop by his shop at some time." Donovan stood up from his chair. "I should be going. Jay and Alice were training all day, and I should ensure they aren't hiding any injuries again."

"Thank you for listening to my story, Donovan. I shall keep your relationship under wraps from the others. Though, I suggest being prepared to tell Yang. I have heard Xiao Longs can become quite… agitated when the possibility of grandchildren is presented to them."

Oolong merely chuckled again at the groan that came from Donovan as he walked away from the office, and back towards SAJJ's room, desperately hoping Alice didn't hurt herself a day before classes.


	22. Regular Family Gathering

Ruby and Nero walked up the walkway from their car up to the door of Ren and Nora's small home, Echo bundled tightly in a blanket in Ruby's arms, sleeping peacefully. Weiss had remained in the car, asking them to go ahead, and they had obliged. They knew she'd be tired, and knew she'd come when she's ready. Nero looked at his mother, a look of mild concern on his face.

"I hope they didn't start anything insane while we were coming" he said, looking at his peaceful looking sister. "We are the last ones here after all."

"Aw, don't be such a worrywart." Ruby said, a grin spreading on her face. "It's not like it can be anything worse than last time, anyway."

"You mean the time where Yang imported that _really_ hard Mistrali liquor, and drank all of it at once?"

"I hope we _never_ top that, to be honest with ya kiddo. That was equal parts funny and horrifying."

"We never did get that homemade cheese." Nero said, chuckling.

"If the cheese mistress comes out again, Echo's going back into the car. I doubt it'll happen though." Nero saw Ruby's eye flash a brighter silver for a moment. "They _should_ know by now that I could kill all of them before a pen I dropped hit the ground."

Nero flinched at his mother's speech. "Mom, you're being terrifying again."

"Yeah, I'm just teasin' ya. C'mon, let's go in."

Nero nodded, knocking a few times before letting themselves in, as was custom with their get-togethers. They both begun a greeting, before going wide-eyed at the spectacle before them.

Jaune's head was in his hand, shaking it solemnly as he looked on at the newly cleared living room in front of him. All of the Ren's furniture had been moved away, save for a table, strangely, and in the clearing stood Yang and Nora. Nora's shirt was off, leaving her in a headband and sports bra, whereas Yang's mechanical arm was currently off, lying on the couch. She unclasped two hatches on a lockbox that sat on the table, withdrawing Lawbreaker from it's foam and snapping it on, electricity crackling at her fingertips. Ruby suddenly put the pieces together; Lawbreaker's aura-shattering pulse that it emanates is an electric one of extreme magnitude. She wasn't sure why, but apparently the name of tonight's game was getting Nora batshit-jacked on her semblance's power.

Blake, who was standing seemingly as far away from them as she could, next to Ren and the kids, almost had to shout over the whirring of Lawbreaker's servos firing up.

"Babe, I'm saying this having ran a criminal empire with you for over a decade, that this is among the stupidest ideas you've ever had."

Yang, whose face was twisted was twisted into a grin that was half bravado, half excitement that she was actually getting to use Lawbreaker, seemed to laugh her words as she replied. "Worse than the incident with the Drug Cartel in Mistral?"

"Nothing will ever come close to topping that, but this is easily top five."

"Yang," Ren said, looking almost disinterested, "just know if you break any of my furniture, I'll kill you myself."

"Like to see you try, Lotus Juice!" Yang shouted.

"What does that even mean?" Ren asked, a quizzical look on his face.

"I don't care!" Nora shouted, her muscles extremely tense. "C'mon! Hit me Xiao Long! My honour's on the line!"

"Can do!" Yang shouted, as she jabbed Nora in the stomach, a sickening _crack_ eminating from Lawbreaker as it discharged its stored energy. Nora immediately collapsed to her knees, before shakily getting up and grinning at Amber as she did. She flexed as she rose to full height, electricty arcing softly across some of her muscles.

"C'mon Amber! Let's see if that augmented strength of yours is enough now!"

As Amber sighed and walked forward, Nero and Ruby had made their way to the group of the others, cautiously moving around whatever was happening in the center of the house.

"So uh," Nero began, looking towards Porfirio, "sorry we're late."

"To be honest, what you missed was hardly important." Porfirio said, chuckling. "As usual, Mom's getting carried away."

"Yang, can you put that thing away now?" Ruby shouted. "There's kinda an infant in here now, y'know!"

"Oh, heya sis!" Yang said, waving with her mechanical arm before looking at it and quickly removing it. "Oh yeah, sorry, heh. Don't mind us, just settling a bet." Yang replaced her arm with her civilian model, placing the former in it's lockbox and handing it to Jaune, who set it aside.

"I can't believe you talked me into letting you pull that thing out." He said, his right hand finally loosening his grip on his sword's hilt. Yang noticed, a wry smile creeping onto her face.

"Aw c'mon Jaune, don'tcha wanna head out into the yard and square off? It's been _quite_ the debate at the school, who'd win between us."

"Yang," Jaune said, a grin worming its way onto his face despite his best attempts to remain disappointed. "You and I both know this entire block's toast if you and I fought."

"Yeah, but it'd be fun. Plus, I know I can go all out against you. Man, I haven't gone all out since, hmmm, man it's been _years_. Could go for a good scrap. Who do you guys think'd win between me and bossman over here?"

There was around an even split among the adults, though Yang frowned at Blake when she voted for Jaune. The kids were much more towards Yang, however.

"Ah, that's just cause you haven't seen me fight." Jaune said, laughing.

"I mean, it's not like they've seen my full ability either, Jaune. If only someone were a bit less sticky on me using it." Yang said, walking towards the table where Nora and Amber had locked hands, preparing to arm wrestle. Yang signaled them to start, and Nora fought with all her might, her veins popping and her face twisting into a grimace, while Amber simply did not budge, her face part concern, and part disinterest as she slammed Nora's arm to the table with minimal effort. Nora flopped backwards, moaning in defeat, while Yang hoisted her daughter's arm in victory. There was a lone 'woo' from Porfirio, whereas everyone else either laughed or looked disappointed. They all turned to the door when they heard an as of yet silent voice comment on the matter.

"Honestly, Yang, it must feel strange having your daughter be _that_ much stronger than you."

Weiss chuckled as she entered the rest of the way into the house, bracing herself on her thin cane that was also Myrtenaster's scabbard. The sword's hilt lied folded at the top, and Weiss's hand rested on the pommel, stabilizing her as she walked. She wore one of her simpler white dresses, which exposed her new cybernetic leg that she had only recently begun walking with. Her hair was tied in her favoured off center ponytail, though it was now pinned in place with a small, white rose-shaped pin. She walked forward and accepted Yang's gentle hug.

"How're you doing, Ice Queen?"

"Better, thank you." Weiss said, frowning slightly at Yang's insistent use of that name, even to this day. "I'm still growing accustomed to having a cybernetic. It's still far easier than simply missing a leg, though. I've missed standing, as weird as that sounds."

"Hey, I'm not the only cybrid in the family anymore!" Yang gleefully said. "So, when're you gonna put a gun in it?"

"I'm going to focus on learning to _walk_ again first, thank you very much." Weiss said, walking toward the others, receiving gentle embraces from her family.

"If I may ask, Weiss," Jaune said, glancing at her new leg, which was clearly Oolong's work, "what made you decide to get a prosthetic now, after all these years?"

"I've been thinking about it for years, honestly. Ever since Nero started at Signal." Weiss said, sitting down and exhaling hard before waving at her son. "Seeing him spar with Mr. Stormbringer last month just made me decide. If my son's this committed to the fight, I should still be too." She glanced down at her sword, thinking somberly that it's the only of their original weapons to survive the war. Ironic, she supposed. "Oolong said that if I keep up with therapy, I can begin training within the month. Mastering the basics again is rather difficult, though."

"Hey," Ruby said, handing their daughter to her, making Weiss smile, "at least you don't have to summon that weird knight leg to fight anymore."

"And thank _goodness_ for that" Weiss said, looking down at Echo, who had stirred awake in the earlier commotion. Weiss cooed at her softly, her infantile murmurs soft. The other adults walked over to them, seeing Echo reach out at Blake.

"May I hold her, Weiss?" Blake said, smiling at the infant.

"Of course." Weiss replied, handing Echo to her. Blake marveled at the baby in her hands.

"Wow, the picture didn't do her justice." Yang said, looking over Blake's shoulder. "She's beautiful, sis. Looks just like you did, if my memory's not fried by now."

"You want to hold her, Yang?" Blake asked.

"I'd rather not." She said, waving her cybernetic. "I'd rather not risk hurting her if phantom pains creep in and it starts acting up." She continued to look on for a distance.

Blake nodded, before handing the child back to Weiss. Ren left for the kitchen, a timer having gone off. "Looks like the food's nearly ready!" Nora said, speeding off to move the furniture back into place. Amber helped, and the two set about to their task as Blake and Ruby moved off to the side.

"Ruby, I've been meaning to ask you something since you arrived." Blake said, scratching the back of her head. "Really, it's been longer, but I've withheld until now. Holding her in my hands really brought it back to the forefront."

"What is it, Blake?" Ruby said, concern emerging on her face.

"What… what are you going to do about her eyes?"

Ruby chuckled softly. "I knew this'd come up eventually. Especially now, with what's going on." She raised a hand to her eyepatch, before lowering it again. "Echo's going to have the same opportunities as Nero. We decided as soon as her eyes were open that we weren't gonna let it define her. I mean, if the eyes defined me, I'd be half the person I was." She smiled big, and Blake just sighed.

"I'll give you that it was better than my wife's usual fare."

"That's not all that much of a compliment." The two laughed, and composed themselves, before  
Ruby continued. "I wanted nothing more than to see my kid grow up normally. Let them live their own lives, without bein' chained down by all the stuff that affected us, y'know? Nero wanted so much to be like us, it was adorable. He's gotten so strong, and I've never been more proud in my entire life. But," She looked toward Echo, who had drifted back to sleep in her wife's arms. "I see my baby girl's eyes, and I see my own life in them. And there's nothing I want less than for my kid to go through everything we did. I don't want my kids to have to save the world."

Blake put her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "It's our job to make sure she won't have to."

"Yeah, but she's gonna outlive us. We're getting pretty old, Blake. I turned 40 last month."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Blake looked toward Amber and Porfirio, who were laughing and talking with Nero and Sienna on the sofa. "I feel what you mean though. Especially with Amber. That was just too… similar to me. It took weeks for me to even let her out of my sight when she got back."

"How have her memories been?"

"Nothing new. She still remembers so little. She's almost a different person entirely. So much more like I was back then."

"Reclusive, obsessive, strong convictions, fawning over a faunus boy… yep, checks out."

"Wait, what was that last part?"

"Oop!" Ruby covered her mouth with her hands. "Nothing!"

"Ruby…"

"I'm sworn to secrecy." Ruby said, making a mock-gesture of zipping her lips shut.

"Alright, I'll respect that." She said, seemingly dropping the topic. Across the room, Yang sat in the chair next to Weiss, looking at Echo peacefully sleep. She smiled, before looking down at Weiss's prosthetic, and letting her smile fade. She looked back up at Weiss.

"So how's your adjustment?" Yang said, putting her hands behind her head. "I'd assume it went a little smoother than mine."

"Basic motor functions were tricky at first, but really it was only a matter of hours. I can't imagine what going through an entire hand must be like."

"It's about 4 weeks of trying to do shit, getting pissed off, pouring whiskey, crushing the whiskey glass because you were right handed, and then flipping the table over." Yang said, laughing at her own story. "You even have toes on that thing?"

"No, I chose not to have them. Too much maintenance, and even more skills to have to relearn."

"Makes sense." Yang said, looking down at Echo again. Weiss noticed, smiling down at her daughter.

"You know, you're the only one of us who hasn't had a kid now."

"Man, Ren and Jaune had kids?"

"You know what I meant, Yang." Weiss said over Yang's laughter. Yang managed to compose herself before replying.

"I do, and don't plan to. Those two are plenty to deal with. Plus, I've done way too many bad things to want to make another one of my kids have to live with it. Fuck, Amber already dealt with those consequences." She looked at Echo, and back to Weiss. "You two, of all people, should know that now."

Weiss sighed, knowing exactly what she meant. "We both accepted the risk when we decided to have another child. It's something we're prepared to deal with." She looked towards her wife, happily chatting with Blake across the room. "Well, if anyone tries to hurt her, I _am_ married to the deadliest woman on Remnant" she said with a smirk.

" _Second_ deadliest. My kill count is higher, and I've beat her every time we've fought."

"Well, barbarism does tend to be effective against elegance."

"Hey! Lawbreaker and Shadow Impulse are technological feats! They ain't barbaric at all!"

"Even the names of your weapons are childish." Weiss said, chuckling to herself.

Yang moved to respond, before settling deeper into her chair. "Yeah, they are kinda stupid. I was an even bigger drunk when I named 'em though, so that might have something to do with it."

"I wasn't aware it was possible to be a bigger drunk than you are right now."

"You must not've known Qrow very well then."

The two chuckled, while Jaune helped Ren and Nora set out the meal. "Dinner's up guys!" Jaune shouted with everyone getting themselves food. They all sat around the living room, swapping old and new stories, and laughing all the way. Jaune smiled, it reminding him so much of the old days, even back before the Fall, when they we're all just starry-eyed kids. The more he thought about that, and the more he looked at the children in the room, the more a sense of dread filled him. Everyone had lost something in that war. Some limbs, or eyes, or something else material. Others had lost things less visible, like Yang had when she formed the Dragons.

Jaune thought back to Dark Skies. He knew another war was starting. As he ate his food with his family, he hoped desperately that the children wouldn't have to fight it this time.


	23. Working as Intended

The Branwen Workshop and Forge, or simply just the Forge as most students referred to it as, was a subterranean, warehouse-like room with all the equipment a Huntsman or Huntress in need of some repairs could ask for. Of course, the Forge was outfitted with the raw material and equipment necessary to build rather than repair or refine, but so few students needed new weaponry that those who use it mainly use it as a free way to repair their gear, or to learn the aptitude to stop having to pay for someone else to do it. However, for the most part, the Forge could be trusted to be empty, with those who needed it never seeming to have overlapping schedules. It was this that Jay had in mind when she was surprised at the exclamation of " _Fuck!_ " as she walked into the Forge during the evening. She looked, and saw Alice, her hair tied back in a ponytail not unlike Donovan's, and her right arm lying on the table, with her left seemingly hard at work. She walked over, sitting next to her, and peering at her work.

"So, the kitty cat actually roughed you up after all?" Jay said, looking closer at the arm, several pieces having been removed and laid broken on the table.

"Yeah," Alice admitted, setting down her tool and wiping some sweat off her brow. "I'm having issues though. There's a mechanical error in the shock absorption unit that I can't seem to find. I think it's a hairline crack or something that's too faint for me to see. I've been poking around for hours, but can't seem to find it." She sighed. "Could you take a look at it for me?"

"You sure?" Jay asked, looking at her partner. Alice's simple white tank adorned with small red butterflies was covered in stains of various fluids, and for the first time she was able to see where her arm attached, seeming to encompass her entire shoulder, with the machinery seeming to extend into her pectorals somewhat.

"Yeah, I'm getting frustrated. I need to get this fixed before classes, else I won't be able to fire my guns with this arm." Alice said, sliding the arm over to Jay's bench, who pulled out her tools to begin working. She smiled softly when she looked at the arm. The issue was just what Alice had though; a hairline fracture along one of the pipes in the shock absorber. Any more major stress and the material this was made of would certainly fracture harder. Still, Jay knew it was far too faint for Alice to detect. She began working, moving other pieces away to remove the broken rod.

"So, what's up with your augments, if I can ask? That port looks pretty invasive." Jay asked as she worked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, it was a huge surgery." Alice said, using her left hand to trace an area around most of her torso. "It was a complete replacement of all the arm-related muscles I had, 'cause they were so atrophied from disuse that they'd tear just from the weight of the new arms. Had to stunt my growth too, to ensure they didn't have to re-do the hyper invasive surgery again every few years."

"Jeez. Hardly sounds pleasant."

"It isn't that bad. I don't feel pain in my upper torso, and it's all synthetic flesh, so if I need repairs, it's way easier. Also, they had to make my heart synthetic too, 'cause of how much the blood flow needed to be restructured. So I can't have heart attacks, I guess."

"Hold on, your _heart_ is cybernetic? That's crazy!"

"Yeah." Alice said, laughing at Jay's shock. "It's also more like a motor or a filter than a pump, meaning I don't have a heartbeat. Creeped the fuck out of the examiner during the entrance test."

"It's starting to creep _me_ out man. It's gonna make you being unconscious in the field way scarier." Jay shuddered at the thought of Alice being hurt, before trying to change the subject. "So, thought about the dance yet?" she said, beginning to put things back into place.

"I wasn't planning on going, actually." Alice said, scratching the base of the ponytail she was unused to having.

"Why for?"

"Not the biggest fan of crowds. Tends to overwhelm my semblance and freak me out a little bit. Plus, my arms look kinda awkward in a dress."

"Ah, I bet if we got you in the right colour, you'd be stunning. Though, I'm not the best judge on dresses. You'd have to talk to Amber and Sienna for that."

"Heh, yeah. Can you imagine them taking me out, though?" Alice said, beginning to laugh. "I'm biologically incapable of window shopping. They'd say something like 'Oh, that one's cute' and I'd just say 'This looks the same as all the other walls'."

Jay laughed as she snapped the last panel on the arm shut. "There ya go, it was just a split pipe, like you thought."

"Really? Damn, I could have been out of here ages ago." Alice said as she snapped her arm back on, flexing everything to ensure it worked properly. "Thanks for the help."

"Y'know, I've been upstairs doing fuck all for as long as you've been down here" Jay said, stretching her arms outward. "You could've called or came up and asked for help or something. That was a ten minute fix at most."

'Well, I usually have Oolong deal with repairs, but he's been busy talking with Boss all evening. Jahim's busy getting the shit beaten out of him by his brother in some tortured form of training, and you seemed busy. I figured I could deal with my own issue."

"Well, several hours and the sounds of your frustration as I walked in seem to say otherwise." Jay said, hopping up. "You can ask for help, you know. Noone's goiing to judge ya."

"It's just," Alice said, pausing as she scratched her ponytail yet again. "It's just that I don't wanna rely on other people more than I have to, y'know? Like, you have to read my fucking homework to me. I should be able to take care of some things myself."

"I realize that, Al, but there's not any shame in just admitting you can't do something. We've all got our strengths and weaknesses." She put all the tools ant her bench away, before beginning to walk over to a large object, taller than her even, covered in a tarp. "Plus, I don't mind giving the cutest girl at Nikos a hand every now and then."

Alice couldn't help but redden slightly at the flirting. "Whatever. I'll try, I guess." She got up, having cleaned her own station, before beginning to follow Jay. "Why are you down here anyway? Maintenance?"

"Nah" Jay said, stopping in front of the large object. She moved the ropes and label of "MERLETTA" from around it. "Just a dumb, self-indulgent little project I've been working on for a few months now." She tore the tarp off, revealing something Alice had trouble identifying. It appeared to be a much larger suit than what Jay normally wore, with several hatches open, Alice assumed to allow entry into it. The suit was easily close to ten feet tall, and was wearing a large pack on it's back with a pointed top and what looked like thrusters on its back. Alice chuckled slightly at the absurdity of what she was looking at.

"What on Remnant is that?"

" _That_ ," Jay said, kicking the tarp out of the way, "is my new ace in the hole. 9 and a half feet tall, built for intense strength, and packing some intense custom weaponry. Registry-wise, it's the Assault Armour - Arch Overlay Variant, but in the field, she's the Raid Raptor."

"This thing is insane. How do you pilot it?" Alice said, seeing how the arm ports featured no controls and only went about 2/3rds down the arm.

"I took some inspiration from Oolong's augments, and run it through a neurological network. I'm gonna outfit Transcendance with a wireless transponder at the base of my neck, which'll read my thoughts and translate them into its movements, making me faster and more efficient. When I link up into Raid Raptor, it'll instead send the signals into it instead."

"That sounds dangerous though. What if the enemy uses something like magnetism or EPMs to short the system?"

"The transmitter I designed doesn't run on electricity, it's a non-invasive version of what goes into the nerve networks on your augments. And, well, everyone else's, but that's besides the point. It's self powering on my aura, and my suits are already doing so, so they're clean as well. Metals are all non-metallic alloys, and to top it all off, they both can feed on the air dust in the thrusters for power as a last resort."

"Man, you _are_ a genius" Alice said, continuing to marvel at the titanic machine in front of her. She chuckled to herself. "A genius with a strange taste in names, but one nonetheless. I mean, you're not even a raptor faunus."

"Yeah, but there weren't any cool words that started with C. It works well enough." Jay said, grabbing a wrench and beginning to work away at the internals on the back.

"How far along is it? It looks nearly done."

"There's still some untested weaponry, like the Satellite Cannon, and there's also the telescoping so it can fit in the rocket locker."

"Wait, _Satellite Cannon_?"

"Yeah. The boosters and holo-wings take me into low orbit, and the arms unite into a really big gun. I need to get Headmaster Arc to let me take this thing out and test it, but the payload on the shots are supposedly massive." She paused as she swapped tools, extending a wing out to tighten something along it. "I have that amazing weaponsmith you sent me to to thank for the tech I needed for that. Thanks, by the way."

"No problem. Man, Velv, you, and Oolong working on a project together." She chuckled to herself, marvelling at the combined work that must've gone into this monstrosity. "Why make it though? It seems excessive for fighting Grimm."

"Well, it's not really for fighting Grimm, sweetheart." Jay said, smirking at Alice until she realized it was fruitless. "I pitched it to Oolong forever ago, after the run-in with Dark Skies. It was just a silly idea, but he seemed almost too into the idea. I brought Ms. Scarlatina on board to help with some of the weapon designs, and did all the building myself. She's kinda a 'just in case' thing. I'm not planning on taking it into the Vytal Tournament or anything. Well, maybe if it's me against Porfirio, or Tahir maybe." Jay said, chuckling to herself.

"You're crazy, you know that?" Alice said, walking over to Jay, before again pulling on her hair. "Gah, I hate all this hair. I've been thinking about getting it cut. What's it like having that short little bob you've got?"

"My hair? I only cut it like this so it fits in my helmet. Xiao Long refuses to share her tech for fitting her giant mane into a helmet, else I'd take your hair in a heartbeat." She grimaced as she tightened fasteners along the wingline. Alice caught herself admiring Jay's muscles, the mild red on her face beginning to deepen as Jay continued. "Well, uh, as for the cut itself, er, it's low maintenance? I've never particularly cared about my hair's look, what with my helmet needs and all. Plus, it's not like a good head of hair'd save all of this." Jay gestured across her scarred visage for emphasis. "It'd look pretty good on you though. Maybe not as short as me, but like, something like what Professor Rose's got, a little shoulder length number. It'd probably get in your way a lot less in combat."

"Yeah, that's mainly why I've been thinking of cutting it. I mean, I enjoy all the combination attacks Boss has concocted, but I'm whipping around in most of em, and my hair can get a little in the way."

"I know a decent salon downtown. I'd love to take ya down there sometime. Maybe get some coffee at Matlal's?"

Alice was suddenly quite glad Jay couldn't see her. She attempted to not lose herself as she replied, trying to keep her usual tone. "Is that a date you're asking me on?"

Jay paused her work. "Well, uh, it can be. If you're comfortable with it, I mean."

Alice giggled, finding some relief that Jay was nearly as flustered as she was. She decided to play it snarky. "Sounds great. I was beginning to wonder when all those months of shameless flirting would result in something. This weekend, perhaps?"

"Y-yeah." Jay said, Alice hearing noticeable relief on her tongue. "It'll give us something to do when Donovan takes Jahim to that Leader's Council or whatever it is."

"Jahim has to go to that?" Alice asked.

"Yeah. Leaders and their partners. Nero was complaining about it to me when we went for drinks the other day."

"Well, whatever. It's a date then."

"Yep!" Jay said quickly. "Hey, while you're still here, can you pass me that 3/8ths over on the bench.

"Sure" Alice said, suddenly far happier to have not asked for help in the first place. "Though if we're gonna date, maybe our first date _shouldn't_ be at my Dad's shop?"

Alice smiled, imagining what Jay's face must look like. "Yeah, that's probably a pretty good call."

The two laughed as they worked together on the suit, well into the night.


	24. Again

"Again."

Jahim pushed himself off the dirty ground in the forest, a clearing artificially both made and walled off by his brother's earth dust manipulation. Tahir stood, towering over Jahim with his hands behind his back, his beard and hair flowing softly with the wind. His robes remained unsullied, his giant prayer beads hanging from his neck, and his feet bare, having discarded his sandals. Jahim attempted to slow his heavy breathing, raising the Devil's Templar in his standard combat stance. He stood, waiting for Tahir to make the first move, waiting for any slight imperfection for him to drive into. Tahir begun a slight movement of his left arm, and Jahim sprung, driving his blade to exactly where he knew Tahir's arm would land. When the blow was about to connect, Tahir's arm slowed tremendously, causing the lead strike to miss completely, Tahir's arm surged forward the rest of the way, directly into Jahim's face, knocking him back over.

"You commit too much to your strikes. You focus too much on the blade rather than the target."

Jahim sputtered, spitting blood onto the dirt. He wiped the remainder from his face, propping himself up onto his rifle, his breathing incredibly heavy.

"Again."

Jahim readied himself again, preparing himself in much the same way. This time, Tahir simply vanished instantly. Jahim wasn't going to fall for the same trick a second time, and spun on his heel to block the surging front kick Tahir had attempted, The force of the impact pushed him backward, but he maintained his footing, and attempted to counter the blow with a sweeping attack from his blade, that tasted nothing but air as a familiar sensation of a foot colliding with his lower back sent him into the nearby wall.

"You strike with far too much haste. Against an opponent of superior mobility, you can never strike first. Do not predict, react."

Jahim felt his anger continue to swell. Against his better judgment, he pulled himself off of the dirt once more, readying himself for further 'training'.

"Again."

Jahim acted first this time, attempting to thrust his blade straight through Tahir. Tahir, of course, vanished instantly, whereupon Jahim turned his blade and slashed as he spun, nearly striking Tahir before he backstepped out of the way and countered his attack with a punch to Jahim's stomach, causing him to double over and begin to wretch at Tahir's feet.

"You are allowing your rage to overtake your ability to correctly process information. You cannot properly fight in this state."

Jahim coughed and spat at the ground he was hunched over, his every muscle fiber aching.

"Stand up. Again."

"I-I can't."

"It is not a matter of can, rather it is a matter of must." Tahir said, completely unflinching. "Stand up."

"Tah-" Jahim coughed while he spoke, spitting a wad of blood onto the dirt. "Tahir, you've proven your point. Just, let me go back, please?"

"You wish to return to your teammates with your goal unsatisfied?"

"They.. they won't know that."

"True. I would not sabotage your relationship with your team by telling them. However, it is a question of you knowing _you_ failed."

"H-huh?" Jahim sputtered in between gasps.

"Your team is incredibly strong. Tuyet is blind, yet her combat is some of the most efficient work I have ever seen. The avian faunus proved strong enough to throw an entire cliff face, and her hand to hand could prove a challenge even to my own. And your leader's mind is brilliant, he sees holes in walls made of solid iron, and drives wedges into them. His tactics seem to incorporate even those of animals, and his semblance _fascinates_ me. You, however, lack those traits. You do not have a semblance to help you. Your strength is average at best. And while your mind is far from dull, it pales in comparison to your partner's. Your strength is your skill with your weapon, which is incredibly deadly in the proper set of hands."

Jahim could do nothing but stare at the floor as his brother continued to speak.

"The question is not whether your team will accept your failure. They will without question, they have not yet been hardened by true combat. No, the question is, after your inability to fulfil a simple challenge with the only thing that sets you apart, whether _you_ still think your hands are the right ones for that machine, and whether you are merely holding them back." Tahir backed up a fair distance from Jahim. "Now stand."

Jahim stayed still for a long time, before shakily standing up, barely able to hold his weapon. Tears he could not hold back pooled with blood that flowed from the corner of his mouth at the base of his chin.

"Again."

Further into the evening, Donovan sat on his bed alone in SAJJ's room, reading his history textbook. He had long since read the required pre-reading for the upcoming semester, but was absolutely fascinated by the history documented within the book. When he was growing up as a boy, the only things he was told were stories of the tribe's past glories, or perhaps of their faith. The tales of great wars, both among humans alone, and between humans and faunus, told more to him than the stories his father had told him and his older brother when they were young.

He sighed. Thinking of his former home saddened him deeply. He had no means of even contacting them, much less finding his tribe again to see if everyone was doing alright. Even if he could, he wagered he'd be killed before he could say his first word, after the disgrace he'd given to them by leaving, and the acts he took in his escape. He sighed again, deeper than the last, wondering if his brother had ever recovered from the mauling the Ursa he'd tamed had given to him. He hadn't had the luxury of being able to stay and find out.

Donovan was thankful when his scroll's text tone, the factory default ping, alerted him to a new message. His mood darkened ever so slightly when he saw it wasn't from Jahim, but he began smiling again once he saw that it was from Jay. She had kept a steady stream of conversation with him before walking down to the Forge. He began re-reading the dialogue, if for no other reason than to purge thoughts of his brother from his head.

JM: hey D i know youre probs still with Oolong but i could use a little advice when you get the chance

DS: I'm available now. Is something the matter?

JM: nah lol just kinda in need of some

JM: uh

JM: tips?

JM: yeh lets go with tips

DS: Tips? On what subject?

JM: erm

JM: romance i guess?

DS: What do you mean?

JM: i mean youve kinda been dating my best friend for like a few months or some shit

JM: i was sorta hoping youd have some advice on the whole

JM: getting the girl thing

DS: I wasn't aware you knew about us. Why didn't you ask Amber for advice instead?

JM: ams not really aiming at the same targets if you catch my drift

JM: plus asking the former international terrorist for dating tips seemed a little fruitless

DS: You're not wrong, she was somewhat aloof to the norms of a relationship early on.

JM: lol

DS: Well, I'll attempt to help you as best as I can. Though, our orientations do not line up too much.

JM: ah were both aiming at the same targets D

JM: just a matter of if theyre aiming back

JM: its like a sniper duel but instead of dying we get laid

DS: That is one strange analogy, Jay.

JM: youre laughing though i know it

DS: That is besides the point. I suppose I should ask who you're attempting to ask, if you're willing to share that information.

JM: fine

JM: though if you tell anyone im telling Xiao Long about you and am

DS: You don't have to threaten me to have my word, Jay. Nothing leaves the discussion.

JM: im deleting the message right after though so you better not miss it

JM: message redacted.

DS: That's unsurprising, to be honest. I was expecting something more shocking if you're this worried about people finding out.

JM: wait i was that obvious?

DS: Please, Jay. You're lucky the girl's blind, or you'd have been called out for staring several dozen times already. You look at her the same way you look at Chef Ren's corn, and alarmingly, that's a rather enormous deal.

JM: oh ha ha the crow loves corn good joke go graze some why dont ya you tiny little cow

DS: Okay, I apologize, the joke was in poor taste.

JM: nothing involving Rens corn is ever in poor taste man

DS: We're getting off track. Why are you at all worried? Alice isn't as 'out' as you, but she's still clearly into, well, most people if her description was accurate.

JM: yeh thats not the problem tho

JM: im just nervous about asking her out

JM: i walked down here to ask her and maybe do a little work too

JM: have me a little productive night

JM: but like

JM: what if she gets all serious and says something like

JM: 'i dont wanna complicate our role on the team'

JM: and if we do end up dating, what if it does happen anyway

JM: i really just dont know how to ask the girl man

DS: Alice'll likely not pick up on your nerves as long as your body language and tone of voice are stable. Work it into the conversation. Maybe offer to take her to Velvet's or somewhere, and throw in a trip to Matlal's Coffee. Make it natural.

JM: well im here may as well try

JM: wish me luck D

DS: I will. Do tell me how it goes.

Donovan smiled at the conversation, Jay's laid back writing contrasting his own so sharply. He couldn't help but hear her voice when he read it. His smile widened further when he read the most recent message.

JM: she said yes i owe you some liquor bro thanks a million

Jay's messages may not be eloquent, but they got the message across. His happy mood lead him to look almost expectantly to the door as it swung open, only to be surprised at Jahim sauntering in and gingerly sitting on his bed, wincing in pain as he did. Donovan saw bandages peaking from the collar of his shirt, and in spots on his face and hands. Donovan immediately lept up and over to Jahim.

"Jahim, are you alright?"

"Huh?" Jahim was startled, as if he didn't even notice Donovan. "Yeah, yeah I'm alright. Training just got a little rough is all."

"Rough training doesn't send you to the infirmary and get you all this bandaging. Let me see your discharge sheet."

"Oh come on, why do you need to see that? I'm fine, Tahir just got a little… rough is all. We were just training."

"You wouldn't be hiding it from me if I didn't need to see it, Jahim. Please, don't make me go down there and request it. I'm only worried about your condition."

"Okay, no need to fret over it. Here." He handed Donovan a folded sheet of paper. His eyes widened as he read it.

"Several fractured ribs, one entirely broken, a major laceration across the chest, minor fractures across the arms and legs, _acute internal bleeding_? Jahim, what on Remnant happened to you? Did Grimm attack when you were training?"

"No! No, no. Like I said, it just got kinda rough is all."

"This isn't 'rough', Jahim, this is abusive. Tahir clearly had to have continued well after your aura was depleted to do any of this."

"Hold on, abusive? He's just trying to help me get stronger!" Jahim shouted.

"It doesn't seem like a major laceration and hitting you hard enough to cause _internal bleeding_ would help you very much. I'm just glad that the Infirmary is as well equipped as it is." He sighed, his eyes gravitating towards the bandages that were visible. "What's left to heal?"

"The biotic tech took care of the smaller fractures and the internals. The major break and some of the laceration still has some healing to do. I'm out for a week, at least." Donovan sighed, and Jahim looked down. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

"I'm not mad, Jahim, at least not at you. I'm disappointed that you're unavailable for practice, but I'm more worried than anything."

"You're worried?"

Donovan put his hand on Jahim's shoulder, ensuring it wasn't the one that was bandaged. "My partner comes back from practice wrapped in bandages, and you're expecting me not to worry?"

"You… you don't need to worry, Donovan. I'll be alright. Just need to wrap up earlier, is all."

"Yes well, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to keep an eye on your training sessions with Tahir from now on."

"Oh no, Tahir wouldn't allow that. He's…" Jahim paused. "He's very protective of our family's styles and secrets."

"I understand, but the well being of my partner comes first. I will have to speak with Tahir tomorrow."

"Wait, please-" Jahim grunted as he attempted to jerk to his feet before collapsing back onto the bed, Donovan helping make sure he didn't fall over. "Please don't tell him I went to the infirmary. He'll get… upset if he finds out I used their healing technology. He'll probably get tougher on me if he finds that out."

Donovan was initially confused, until it clicked, and he understood. He nodded solemnly. "Alright, I'll avoid talking to him for now." He paused, thinking briefly. "Maybe I'll have our instructors change our schedules, so that you and I can practice together more frequently, and work on our coordination."

"Yeah…" Jahim said, understanding what Donovan meant. "That'll help."

"I'm going to make myself clear though, Jahim." Donovan said, his tone immediately sharpening.

"Huh?"

"If you come back in this state or worse, I'm not going to buy that Tahir was simply being 'rougher than usual'. Please, for your own sake, don't let this happen again."

Donovan looked to Jahim's reaction, but found he had merely frozen in place after Donovan had finished speaking. "Jahim, are you alright?"

"Wha… Y-yeah, yeah I'm okay. Just… thinking about something else." He lied down on his bed, wincing as he did. "I'm gonna turn in early tonight. Goodnight, Donovan."

Donovan looked at Jahim, a concerned look on his face. "Goodnight, Jahim."

Donovan tried to return to his book, but found that he couldn't concentrate anymore.


	25. The Not-So-Calm Before

"Gah! This is stupid!" Jahim shouted, taking his head in his hands as he sat at his desk, a mountain of paperwork in front of him.

"It's your own fault, dude" Jay said, lazily snaking on a bowl of corn on her bed whilst watching something on her scroll. "If you'd've done your work for this leadership thing instead of getting the living shit beat out of you in the forest last weekend, you'd probably be out with the rest of the gang in town."

Jahim grumbled unintelligibly, taking his pen back into his hand. He had put off completing the required forums for the meeting he and Donovan were attending all of the first week of the semester, and regret was now setting in as he spent his friday afternoon working. "Speaking of," he said as he worked, "why aren't you out with them?"

"Eh, I'm moving my rest day from today to tomorrow, 'cause of my date. Plus, I'll probably go out later tonight and buy something nice to wear."

"Oh yeah, you're taking Alice out." He chuckled to himself. "Y'know, you're a little paranoid over your look, considering who you're dating and all."

"Bah, just 'cause she can't make out the details doesn't mean it isn't important. Plus, I need more sleeveless stuff for the summer anyway. Vale's supposed to get super hot, isn't it?"

"It can, but it's not like we're in Vacuo or anything."

"Gah, you wouldn't think I'd be homesick for a swamp, but at least it was pretty cool year round. Plus the food in Mistral was incredible."

"Speaking of, why did you come out here? You grew up and lived in Mistral, but then did vigilante work in Vacuo, and finally came to school in Vale. What was so appealing about Vale that you moved _again_?"

"Well, I was a wanted woman in Vacuo, and legally dead in Mistral, and probably dead the second I set foot in Atlas, so I guess life made that decision for me." Jay said, finishing the last of her bowl before standing and stretching. "I really should head down there, though. I'd prefer to be back and showered before my prospective girlfriend comes back to me being all smelly."

"Makes sense. I'll be here if you need me."

Jay grabbed her bag and waved goodbye before leaving the room and heading straight for the gym.

The Xiao Long Fitness Centre, unlike the Forge, was very rarely not brimming with students and faculty alike. It was very necessary to maintain peak physical form when working in a profession as dangerous as the students and teachers are, thusly the machines within get large amounts of use. Jay welcomed the business; she disliked listening to music or anything of the like whilst working out, and the murmurs of those around her helped create white noise that helped her to not go insane. She begun using a rowing machine, something with a simple, rhythmic motion that allowed her mind to wander. Her mind immediately went to her match earlier in the day in Combat, against Amber of all people. Their fight was the same brutal slugfest it always was, and as usual, Jay's technique let her close the distance and end the fight in her favour, but it was still a close and tense brawl. She enjoyed the rivalry to two of them shared, and the drive it gave her to be constantly improving. What she enjoyed even more, however, was the cheering from her team and the smile on Alice's face when she came out on top.

She sighed, worry once again creeping from her mind and onto her face. Donovan may have been able to quell her nerve about _asking_ the girl out, but she doubted anything could shake the self-doubt that plagued her about the date itself. Despite how much she told herself not to worry, that she and Alice had plenty in common, how she was relying on her for the haircut, even, lingering feelings of doubt ate at her confidence. _Relax_ , she begged her psyche. _She likes you, dumbass. It's gonna go great, just you watch_.

"Now, _that's_ a weird expression for someone to be rowing with."

Jay nearly jumped at the sudden comment directed her way, looking up to see Ruby Rose standing in front of her, her hands on her hips and a goofy grin on her face. Jay opted to try to play dumb, something she'd admit later she wasn't very good at. "What do you mean, Professor?"

"Ah, drop the formalities, it's the weekend. Just call me Ruby. Plus, I'm technically not a professor yet." She folded her arms, and leaned in slightly. "And what I mean is that you look awful troubled by _something_. Most people I know are either grimacing or grinning like an idiot when using that thing. Not really sure why though. Still, what's got you so upset?"

Jay admitted defeat, letting her expression return to its resting state. "Gah, just girl troubles. Nervous about a date is all."

"Oooh, that makes sense, yeah. Wanna talk about it?" Ruby said, sitting on the machine next to her, setting the weight to a decidedly far smaller amount that Jay's was at, which earned a chuckle from the faunus.

"I mean, I've really got nothing much else to do, if you're willing to listen."

"Hey, I'm all ears. Trust me, I went through plenty of girl troubles back in the day."

"Heh, after getting to meet Weiss Rose herself, I can see where." The two chuckled for a moment. "Well, I'm, er, taking Alice out on our first date tomorrow."

"Your partner, the cybrid?"

"Yeah. Donovan gave me some advice, and I mustered up and asked her. It, uh, coulda gone smoother, but the important part is she said yes, and now I'm nervous as all fuck."

"Well, where are you taking her?"

"Just coffee. Stereotypical, but I kinda panicked, so it works."

Ruby giggled. "Well, it's better than my first date with Weiss. 'Hey, I just rescued you from the custody of your awful father, let's go get ice cream!' We got ambushed by SDC assassins. Kissed after, but almost died."

Jay laughed at the story. "Better than what Donovan and Am do. They just go into the forest, killing shit and just _talking_ all night. They're taking it slower than Goliaths, man."

"Y'know, speaking from experience, Goliaths tend to get pretty fast when they want to. And they're _really_ hard to stop."

"This analogy just keeps getting weirder."

"Yeah, we're getting off track, aren't we?" Ruby said, shaking her head to focus herself. "What's making you so nervous? It's pretty hard to mess up a coffee shop date. I should know, I've managed that, and it kinda took more assassins."

"How long have people been trying to kill you, dude?" Jay asked, laughing at the incredulousness.

"Longer than you've been alive, buddy." Ruby laughed. "Now go on, what's freaking you out so much?"

"Gah, just, nerves. Not really used to how, er, not disgusting Vale is yet. So, a blind cybrid and a scarred as all fuck faunus being a couple in public? I know I'm getting nervous over probably nothing, but still, I'm nervous. You never know when the assholes are gonna come out. And it's not like I'm worried about me, nah, people are wise enough usually to not try and start shit with me. I'm worried about _her_ , man."

"You don't think she can handle herself?"

"No, not that at all. She's a total badass, man. I mean, she sees in fucking _radar_ , and she's even stronger than I am when I'm out of my suit. It's just, people don't know that. People are gonna say shit, and poke fun, and try and hurt her."

"You remind me of Blake, back in the old days. Waaaay back when we were at Beacon, all of us in one piece, literally." She chuckled. "She had the same problem, worrying about her secret getting out and it harming Yang, and let it get to her to the point that she never told Yang anything. Well, that went pretty poorly, as I'm sure you've read, or seen in those movies by now. By the way, how's the 3D on those? I can't really use it, cause, well…" She tapped on her eyepatch for emphasis.

"I haven't seen them. Ex-poor as fuck vigilante, remember?" The two laughed at Jay's self depreciation.

"Back to the point, you shouldn't worry so much. She's strong, and she'll take it if she cares about you. And if my eye isn't deceiving me from what I've seen, she likes you quite a bit."

Jay chuckled. "Man, seems like the universe seems to be coming together to give me infinite pep talks."

"Heh, I must not be the first then, huh?"

"And probably not the last. Can't wait 'til Amber finds something to talk to me about."

"Probably your confidence. Someone with all that strength probably shouldn't worry so much."

"Gah, it's just… Amber summed it up super well when we were talking the other day," Jay said. "We've finally got things to fight for now. It feels good to have friends and stuff again, but now I've got things to _lose_ again."

"Man, you really are like Blake." Ruby chuckled. "Maybe turn some of that worry back onto yourself, and quit being so reckless all the time?"

"It's hard to shake, man. You've seen the result of that. Me, unconscious, at the bottom of a toppled tower." Her expression suddenly stiffened. "Man, I… I still have nightmares about then."

"I feel you. I still dream about when I lost my eye. That was pretty scary."

"You mind if I ask how it happened?"

"Not at all. It's not really a glamourous story, though." Ruby said, looking up in an attempt to remember. "Man, I was like, 19 at the time. Tried to take on Cinder Fall head on, right after we'd landed in Haven. I tried to do what I did back at Beacon, with my eyes, and it, well, didn't work. She took my eye, and we barely escaped. We returned to Vale in shame, and I made up a lie that the Dragons knew where Blake was, hoping desperately that it was a good guess. Turns out it was, but it was really stupid in hindsight. My sister beat me up real good."

"You and Yang fought?" Jay said, surprised at the notion. "The textbooks didn't say anything about that."

"Oh man, there's so much that those books can't say. Like how Yang's kinda-sorta banned from leaving the kingdom."

"What?" Jay asked, laughing at the incredulousness. "I have to know about that."

"Nope, that's not how story sharing works! You have to give one in exchange for the last one."

"We're going by campfire rules?" Jay laughed again. "Fine, I guess I've got a good story or two…"

The two laughed and swapped stories long into the afternoon, far past Jay's usual workout. When she returned and showered, she simply fell into bed in the early evening, her teammates returning to a sleeping Jahim over a pile of completed paperwork and a sleeping Jay, her wings at full span and covering both Alice and Donovan's beds. It took the two a full twenty minutes to get the two in proper sleeping positions, and by that point they were so exhausted they fell into their own beds, sleeping soundly for the night.


	26. Loud and Clear

The sun hung high in the midday sky, as Jay and Alice walked through the commercial district of Vale. Jay had found a coffee shop that not only wasn't owned by Alice's adoptive parents, but also wasn't far at all from the salon that Sienna had recommended. Jay had chosen to wear a simple tank and jeans, bearing both her nastily scarred arms and her wings for anyone to see. She was glad Alice had helped her gain the confidence to do that, mostly because long sleeved shirts that also tucked her wings would've been nightmare-inducingly hot in the summer. Alice, meanwhile, wore similar clothing, though she opted to wear long sleeves herself, and thin gloves to avoid drawing too much attention. Jay had protested that drawing less attention was probably a lost cause, but Alice had insisted. She also exchanged her usual blindfold again for her sunglasses that wrapped around the pits of her eyes, fully obscuring them from view. Jay chuckled to herself, more amused than anything at the fact that somehow, despite months of knowing each other, Jay had never seen Alice's eyes, not that she was looking. Alice must have her reasons for obscuring them, and Jay respected that. The chuckle caught Alice's attention as they neared the shop.

"Something funny happen?" She asked, wondering if perhaps someone had fallen or something outside of her range.

"Nah, just remembering something funny is all." They rounded another corner, and arrived at the shop. Inside, Jay looked at the menu posted above the counter, and Alice simply crossed her arms in frustration, prompting another chuckle. "I'm assuming that means you can't read the menu. Do you have a usual coffee?"

"Nah, I don't enjoy caffeine that much. Do they have hot chocolate?"

"Mhm."

"I'll just have one of those. Smallest they have, if you could."

"Gotcha. Could you go grab a table?"

"Sure thing."

Alice walked to the side of the shop, where a large seating area was laid out. She assumed the long, featureless wall with nothing on it was a window, and took a seat at a two-person table situated along it. She rested her head in her left hand, and allowed her mind to briefly wander. She wondered about Jay's past, and what little she'd heard of it. She remembered that Jay had been the one to take down the terror cell that had had Amber in it, and subdued her for capture and rehabilitation. That was about _all_ she really knew, though. So much of Jay mystified her. She says she's covered in scars and old wounds, but where did they come from? Did she have any family? Jay tended to avoid questions about her past like a plague, and while Alice had always respected that, it filled her with questions. She idly wondered if they'd be answered as she noticed Jay approaching holding two cups, and sitting opposite her.  
"What did you get for yourself?" Alice wondered aloud.

"Large Black Coffee. Simple stuff."

"You drink it black?"

"Yeah, I enjoy the bitterness. It's kinda this strange love-hate thing."

"So those giant mugs you fill morning after morning are just ground beans in hot water?"

"Man, you make it sound so weird." Jay said, chuckling before taking a sip. "Yes, I drink hot bean water every morning."

Alice laughed at the phrasing, and Jay smiled at the sight. Alice's body language fascinated her, how she moved, sat, and reacted to things. How stationary her head tended to be, how much she talked with her hands, how little she moved in her seat, just minute differences in behavior to someone with normal vision. Jay wondered what life must resemble for her. Sight was something she took so much for granted, especially given her own eyesight was so great. An inability to see fine details, or through glass, or even _colour_ seemed insane to her. Yet, she saw in a way that Jay couldn't even begin to comprehend, in that she saw _everything_. She wasn't bound by the organs in her face, she sees anything and everything around her, and that amazed Jay. How was she able to process all of that information? It baffled her.

The two merely smiled and drank for a time, before Jay broke the silence. "So, I'm really curious, but just how does your semblance work? It's incredibly fascinating to me."

'Well, I'm sure you've heard the basic description dozens of times by now," Alice said, smiling while she took another sip.

"Yeah, but that's just the surface. Like, when you see me, you only see the outline of me, right?"

"Yeah, I've been told that that's what the descriptions I usually give match. Why?"

"Well, I know it's not exactly an issue for me, but some people look really similar, bodytype-wise. How do you tell them apart, if you have to?"

"Man, that's always a _pain_." Alice said, earning a laugh out of Jay. "I'm happy that my date is someone so, erm, distinct?"

"Yeah, I cut a strange figure, don't I?"

"Heh, yeah. Not many girls are you-level big, and I'm willing to bet you're the only one among those few that has _wings_."

"You'd be surprised." Jay said, taking a drink as Alice giggled.

"Well, if I know them well enough, usually I'll have associated a sound with them."

"Wait, a sound?"

"Yeah, most people make a certain sound a lot. And since my hearing is really sharp, on account of my eye's being as useful as raw steak in an Ursa pit, I tend to pick up on them. Like, Boss' breathing is really distinct. His exhale is always this big huff out his nose. Listen for it."

Jay guffawed at the thought of his leader's breathing being so distinct. "Do I have one?"

"Not per say, but when we're fighting I tend to listen for howling winds, because of your Air Dust usage and flapping."

"Huh," Jay said, pondering the sound she had been paired with. "That's actually pretty cool."

"Yeah. I've learned that when i hear the howling winds, it means you're still safe and moving, and also not to shoot in that direction."

"Heh, well it's a lot harder to accidentally hurt you when all I use is my fists." Jay said, cracking her knuckles subconsciously.

"I'm just glad we don't have to fight often. You're bulletproof, stabproof, and stronger than me. That's 0-3 for me."

"Yeah, unless you use that giant fucking pistol you've got," Jay said, remembering _An Assassin Named…_ from when she was shown it once. "Have you fired that thing yet?"

"Nope. To be honest, with a payload that big, I hope I never have to. Whatever's on the buisness end isn't getting back up. I'm sure that thing could put a Goliath down."

"Y'know, call me boring, but I'm not all that inclined to test that theory," Jay said as she took a long drink, wincing slightly at the bitterness. "Wow, this place makes it really strong."

"I can tell, your whole body shivered there."

"Really, you picked up on that?" Jay asked, wondering how sensitive her sight was, if it picked up motion as subtle as that.

"Yeah. I've gotten pretty perceptive of changes in airflow, so motion's real easy to see. I even had Oolong write firmware for my cybernetics that reacts to my perception of an approaching bullet and moves them in order to minimize damage, or even block it."

"Jeez, I can't even begin to think about how complex that algorithm must be."

"Well, Oolong's mind is very powerful. He's essentially a supercomputer with feelings. He's a total genius, and if he's got internet access, he can know virtually anything if you give him long enough."

Jay begun to laugh at the thoughts she was having. "I'm just imagining Oolong with an ethernet cable sticking out of his head, just sitting there digging through piles of dumb pictures on joke websites while trying to find actual information he needs."

"Yeah," Alice said, joining him in laughter, "you'd think someone with a brain that fast'd have a stronger sense of humour."

"Well, Matlal must have a killer sense of humour then, for you to come out as snarky as you did" Jay said, grinning through her next drink of coffee.

"Yeah, Dad's pretty much never serious about anything. Him and Oolong talking is always a riot."

"Why do you do that, by the way? You call Matlal Dad, but not Oolong."

"Eh, he just doesn't like it. I choose to respect that, plus Oolong's more fun to say. He's the only one that gets a skip on my nicknames."

"Except Jahim," Jay said.

"Because someone showed up and rather vehemently demanded to be called by my old name for him."

"Hey! I'm getting better use out of it!" Jay said, false pain in her voice. "My name's way longer and grosser."

"I kinda like it though. It's kinda cute, in a grandma name kinda way."

"Tell you what, if I live long enough to be a grandma, you can start using my full name, eh?"

Alice giggled. "Already gazing that far into our future, Jay? This is only our first date."

Jay immediately reddened. "You know what I meant," she grumbled into the lip of her nearly empty cup.

"It was cute though," Alice said, as she wondered what Jay's face looked like. "Just poking fun. Us as mothers, though…"

"Maybe I'd finally get to see what colour your eyes are," Jay said, giggling slightly at the thought of their kids.

"Oh, you don't know?" Alice asked, before removing her sunglasses and opening her eyes, which blinked and squinted softly before opening. They were a very light blue, almost seeming the cartoonish grey of blind people in media. She quickly closed them and replaced her sunglasses. Jay simply stared, surprised at how simple it was to see them after all that time.

"I honestly thought you had a reason for covering them up," she said, still somewhat in shock.

"Well, I somewhat do. They're really light sensitive, and it hurts quite a bit to have them open when there's a lot of light around. Plus, it's not like I use them, so I just cover them in case they reflexively open." She took a drink, finishing off her hot chocolate. "What colour are they? I've never really bothered asking."

"A really pale blue, almost grey even. I've never seen eyes that faint before."

"Well, that is a symptom of albinism, so I'm not all that surprised."

"Hold up, albinism?" Jay asked, wondering if the revelations were going to stop any time soon.

"Yeah. My body basically forgets to produce some kinds of chemicals and stuff, so my hair, skin, and eyes lack pigment. I also get sunburnt really easily."

Jay thought back to the almost sarcastic amount of sunscreen Alice had put on earlier that morning, it now seeming far more legitimate. "That's… really weird. Kinda cool though. Is that why you're blind?"

"Nah, that happened at birth separately. Seems I hit the lottery on birth defects, eh?"

"What a shitty lottery, man. Can't imagine what the powerball is."

"Stillbirth, I'd imagine."

"Damn." Jay said, laughing at how dark Alice had gone before finishing her own drink. "Well, looks like we're both done. Care to head to the hair place after that nightmare of a joke?"

Alice chuckled. "Sure thing."

The salon was rather standard, and was surprisingly empty despite it being the weekend. Alice was able to walk straight back, Jay following her back. When asked about the cut, Jay explained her situation before describing the cut they'd prefer. She stayed back with them the entire time, monitoring the cut since Alice couldn't use mirrors. Alice made small talk with the tiny hairdresser doing the work, who often commented on the sheer volume of hair she was cutting off. She finished after something like an hour, and Amber turned to Jay, who had been leaning against a nearby wall, for feedback. Jay was awestruck for a moment, before flushing and turning from the hairdresser when she began to giggle.

"Y-you look great," she said at Alice's hair, now extending just slightly past her shoulders.

"Thanks, it certainly feels better," Alice said with a knowing smile as she paid the hairdresser and they exited the salon. By the time they returned to the dorm, it was into the afternoon, with the two standing outside and turning to each other.

"I'm gonna go grab some food," Jay said, "Wanna come with?"

"Nah, I'm not all that hungry. Plus, I kinda wanna gauge Boss' and Jahim's reactions to the hair."

"Fair enough." Jay said, rubbing the back of her head while chuckling.

"Y'know, that was pretty nice," Alice said, taking off her gloves. "I, uh, I wouldn't mind doing that again." She felt her face redden slightly. Jay merely chuckled.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Next weekend, maybe?"

"Sure thing." Alice said.

"I'm gonna head out, see ya around."

"Okay." Alice said, before moving forward and wrapping her arms around Jay in a hug. Jay flushed from the surprise, before returning the hug. She waved as she walked away, and Alice attempted to compose herself before she walked into the dorm. The room was empty, and she assumed they must still be at the meeting. She layed down on her bed, smiling as she thought about the day. Her smile widened when she thought about a future date with Jay, now her partner in multiple tenses.


	27. Cold Front

The first few weeks of the semester following the uneventful first progressed quite fast for teams SAJJ and ASNL. Both teams performed near the top of the pack for the freshmen class, with Jay and Porfirio holding a tie for the current highest combat rank among freshmen, and a top 10 rank across the entire school. Jay and Alice's relationship continued, with several dates and both teasing and acceptance from their friends. Donovan and Amber both continued to work expediently to improve their teams, and to find time for each other in the meantime. As the weeks progressed, the time for missions drew near, being moved to before the Dance rather than after when Nikos was reformed, in order to make it seem more like a reward. However, while both teams lounged during a warm Sunday morning, the day before mission assignments, the secret organization far above their heads was dealing with a new issue.

The RISE meeting room was sparsely filled, which was something Jaune was unused to even still. The many tired faces of his few members he had on staff, as well as Oolong's unmoving faceplate for good measure, all looked at him with varying emotions of either anger, confusion, or expectancy as he prepared for the address.

"Alrighty Jaune, spill," Yang said, her eyes tired and a giant cup of coffee in her hand. "You dragged us outta bed this early, so there'd better be something big."

"There is, Yang, bigger than anything we've had to deal with in some time," Jaune replied, before turning around. "I'm sure you're all familiar with the situation in Atlas?"

"I think some members would benefit from a brief overview, given how long it has been since the kingdom has been an issue." Oolong said.

"Right," Jaune said, before blowing up a picture of Atlas on a screen projected behind him. "Shortly after the Fall of Beacon, James Ironwood was forcefully removed from power in a coup spearheaded by those under the thumb of Weiss' father, and the SDC as a whole. The SDC seized control of Atlas, and Winter Schnee was placed as general in charge of the entire kingdom. The kingdom was then closed, with no one inside permitted to leave, and nobody permitted to gain entry. Those rules lasted until just two years ago, where they were mysteriously lifted. Regardless, Winter Schnee was added to the list of threats to international peace, Atlas was embargoed, and Ironwood joined and worked with the early form of RISE until his passing 19 years ago."

"Yeah, but why is all this important now?" Sun said, his feet up on the table and he himself reclined back. "Those Atlas chumps haven't bugged us since Weiss re-seized the SDC after the Fall. Why're we worrying right now?"

"Because," Jaune said, pulling up a second screen, " _this_ message arrived in Weiss' inbox four days ago."

The message was an e-mail, directed to Weiss:

 _Sister,_

 _It is with great humility I send this message. As I am sure you are aware, Father's grasp on Atlas has made the kingdom fall into a state where it is a mere shadow of its former self, embodying everything that the rest of the world does not. I understand that you have some sway within Vale's government. I realize my involvement in Father's uprising has earned some ire from those you ally yourself with, but I implore you to hear out my reasoning for contacting you. The military is not loyal to Father, we are merely locked under his thumb. We have been planning a military coup to retake the kingdom for some time now, and are now prepared to mobilize. We feel confident in our ability to retake and hold control of the nation. However, I ask that you and your kingdom align with us publically in the effort. Whether this be by public decree or reinforcements, it is your decision. I trust that you and your organization's judgment will assist us in establishing a new age for the kingdom of Atlas._

 _Regards,_

 _General Winter Schnee_

"Okay, but what does this matter?" Yang said. "Ice General here's still on our list of 'Don't give a fuck if they drop dead' people. Why should we hold her word with any value at all?"

"Because," Jaune said, frustration permeating his tone, "These images were recently sent to us from a drone we sent over Atlas yesterday, before it was shot down by anti-air cannons." Jaune displayed multiple overhead images of the kingdom of Atlas becoming a battleground, with what few loyal troops Commander Schnee had barely managing to hold the city from his daughter's coup. "Winter's words were sincere. It's all on us to act."

"Well, uh, I think we should support it," Ruby said drowsily. "My father-in-law's kinda been needing a good butt-kicking for awhile now."

"It's also very likely Winter's retaken Atlas will need recognition from one of the 3 kingdoms for it to gain legitimacy," Ren said. "The sooner we announce our support, the sooner Atlas can go back to how it was."

"And how it was was a load of shit," Yang said. "Atlas had problems before Mustache McShithead took over, all he did was make 'em worse. Not to sound rude, but how can we trust Winter to make Atlas not a place that'll kill you in the street for not being human?"

"I too see issues with the idea of supporting this coup," Oolong said. "My data shows that the Atlesian populace did not express distaste for the policies enacted under Commander Schnee's regime. The coup may simply be a waste of effort."

"Well, it's happening right now, regardless of our stance," Blake said. "We need to decide something now, while it's still happening. If we assist in the coup, we could install a political power that enforces rules that are standard in the Kingdoms' New Treaty of Vytal. Work towards bettering Atlas, rather than leaving it to rot like we have."

"That makes us no better than them," Sun said. "We're tearing out what's there in war in order to put what we think's right in there."

Jaune sighed, before turning to the lone silent person left in the room. "Weiss, what do you think?"

Weiss had been sitting silently during the debate, looking down at her still sleeping daughter in her arms. Her face tensed, and she looked up at Jaune. "There's nobody on Remnant who hates my father more than Winter. Her motivation is legitimate, and I believe her morals are as well. Still, us taking military action would send the wrong message. The general public isn't aware of RISE's connections to the Vale military, nor that we hold more sway in Vale than the central government. Having Vale publically move in or support this effort while the general public is unaware of it could lead to exposure of RISE, and lead to investigations on Yang, the Dragons, and our entire network. There's also Amber to consider. We simply cannot afford to risk RISE going public. Not yet."

The table had fallen silent at Weiss' analysis, contemplating the implications of what she had said. It was Ruby that finally shattered the silence. "Well, what if just Nikos responded? Nikos carries enough weight that it could mean something, and since I work here, it'd make sense that something that came to my wife'd make it's way up through our chain of command."

"That… actually makes sense," Yang said. "If the school's the one responding, we don't have the pressure of working with the government afterward, and can quickly remove ourselves from the equation should things turn out shitty."

"Indeed," Jaune said, placing his hands on the table. "This seems like a solid plan. Any ideas on our actual action?"

"What if we sent in a few of us?" Sun said, sitting up in his chair. "We're all heavy hitters for the Hunt, ain't we? We'd be enough to make a difference."

"I support the idea, but wonder how intense the combat will be," Oolong added. "If my intuition is correct, the Commander's defensive forces will be lackluster enough to where a team could be sent in on a mission, supervised by a team consisting of us, of course."

"I really like that idea, actually," Jaune said. "The data from the drone indicates the Commander's troops are using out of date equipment and are fewer in number, and the nature of Huntsmen on the battlefield is likely to make a strong impact even with a small number. Is anyone opposed to the notion?"

There was a brief pause of acceptance, which Yang excitedly broke. "So, who're we sending in? TPAZ?" she asked, thinking of the devastation Tahir Farid could bring.

"Unfortunately, the time frame makes it so we'd have to send a 1st year team," Jaune said.

"Are you sure it is wise to send our youngest?" Oolong asked. "I worry that sending people so young could end poorly."

"Oolong, you and I have both seen some of these kiddos work, and some of them are insane," Yang said. "In fact, I think I know exactly which bunch I think we should send at Papa Schnee."

The next morning, the first year teams all hurriedly moved to the mission briefing centre, where their first missions would be given to them. Teams SAJJ and ASNL moved leisurely down the hallway towards the centre, sharing tales of their weekend.

"...and right after, we had a nice picnic out in the Emerald. It was nice, and the sandwiches were excellent," Jay regaled.

"Nothing to set the mood for a date like slaughtering grimm," Amber deadpanned, earning a laugh out of Alice.

"Yeah," Alice said after composing herself, "you could really feel the affection in the way she somersault-kicked that Ursa."

The entire group laughed as they entered the centre, Donovan and Amber moving to the front and receiving envelopes that held their details. The two returned to their teams at the back of the room with the envelopes in hand.

"So, where are we going sis?" Porfirio asked, peering at the envelope.

"Well, let's see." Amber opened the envelope, reading the detailed report inside. "Looks like we're heading south. There's been reports of moving grimm hordes, and we're to go with Professor Daichi to investigate."

"Sounds fun!" Sienna said, zipping over to look at the paper. "I always enjoy a good extermination!"

"What about you guys? Anything cool?" Nero asked, eyeing Donovan's envelope.

"Yeah boss," Alice said, "tell me what part part of Remnant I don't get to see."

The group laughed again as Donovan opened the letter. His face immediately shifted from laughter to confusion.

"Something up, Donovan?" Jahim asked.

"The note merely says to 'Report to Headmaster's office with team immediately upon receiving this notice." Donovan said, holding the paper for the others to see.

"Maybe we're in trouble? I did kinda break Ryōjin's nose on friday," Jay said, scratching the back of her head.

"I don't think so," Donovan said, shaking his head. "Perhaps this mission has some additional details that are sensitive, and not to be placed on paper."

"Or," Sienna said, "you're all going on some super secret mission that's really dangerous and far above our level, where you crash a train into Vale and unleash a huge grimm horde!"

"Sienna, that's what happened to our parents," Amber said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure the Headmaster will explain," Donovan said. He beckoned his team as he began to move for the elevators. "Come on, let's go. We'll report back to you when we know what's going on."

Team ASNL waved as SAJJ disappeared into the elevators, and begun their rapid ascent towards what awaited them on their first operation as a team.


	28. One Step Forward

The elevator ride to the top of the spire was a short one, but it was filled with tension. Donovan wondered what could warrant substituting their mission details for a trip up here. He figured that there's no reason that they would be denied the opportunity so cruelly, by giving and then taking as they would have, and that this is surely a more discreet method of giving orders. Still, why the secrecy? He shook his head, just before the doors opened into the Headmaster's office.

"Hey! Glad you guys got here so fast," Headmaster Arc said, seated at his desk. He was flanked by Professors Wukong and Oolong, as well as Weiss Rose. "I was thinking you guys'd be a bit longer," he continued. "C'mon, come in. We've got things to discuss."

The four members of SAJJ spilled out of the elevator, each taking a seat in one of four chairs that were laid out in front of the Headmaster's desk. It was a fair assumption that they had been expecting them immediately. Jay broke the uneasy silence that hung over the team.

"So, something up?" she said, crossing her legs and leaning the chair back onto it's hind legs.

"Indeed there is," Jaune said, a screen depicting Atlas appearing behind him. "I'm sure that you're all aware of the current situation in Atlas."

"I've been told the current leader of the nation has some very controversial policies," Donovan said, studying the map.

"That's putting it lightly, man," Jay said, turning to her leader. "That Schnee asshole saw the paranoia surrounding faunus after they caught the flak for the Fall of Beacon, and used it to climb to power and put into place anti-faunus rhetoric that made the White Fang look like a group that gave humans cookies and kittens. Seriously, if you or I were to go there, we'd be beaten and jailed for doing nothing." She turned back to her elders, noticing Weiss amongst them. "Erm, no hard feelings on the whole calling your dad an asshole thing?"

Weiss waved her off. "Don't worry about it. If anything, I share your sentiment."

Jaune cleared his throat, drawing attention back to him. "Well, more to the point, we recieved wind that the military is staging a hostile takeover of the government. The leader of the coup is an old ally that can be trusted, and for that reason we've decided to support this action and join in the fight. In this regard, we not only wanted to send a team of our skilled, senior huntsmen, we wanted to send a team of students with of them, both as additional support, and for the experience." He paused, and laughed nervously. "Granted, warlike combat isn't _super_ common for Huntsmen, but after what we went through as students, we feel it's something students should experience for themselves, given that it's always a very real possibility. So, with that in mind, your team was picked to go on this mission."

Donovan was unsurprised at being given a mission, but was quite surprised at the weight of what he and his team had been assigned. "Are you sure about this, Headmaster?" he said in response to the assignment.

"We realized this is perhaps a bit more… hands-on than what you were anticipating or prepared for, and we understand perfectly if you wish to decline it. We'd be more than happy to find a different task for you all."

"I… think some time to discuss this with my team would be best, Headmaster." Donovan said nervously.

"Of course," Jaune said, rising to his feet. "We will wait in my personal room. Knock on the door when you're prepared." He and the other adults left the room, leaving just Team SAJJ left.

"So," Donovan said, turning to his team, "what do all of you make of this?"

"I want to do it," Jay said rather adamantly, crossing her arms. "If the horror stories I've heard about faunus policy there are even close to true, you owe it to yourself to go too, Donovan."

"Jay, I realize your… personal connection, but we have to consider other things. This is an actual warzone. We're likely not going to be fighting grimm, or even drones," Donovan said, looking towards the ground. "We may be injuring, _killing_ even, actual flesh and blood people."

"People that have actively perpetuated an environment of hate for people simply based on their heritage," Jahim said, sitting up straighter. "I'm all for it."

Donovan paused. "Alice?"

There was a long silence as everyone in the room looked toward their blind teammate. She had been noticeably silent, finally breaking the pause in an unconfident sounding voice. "This is something we need to do. If you all decide to go, I will too."

Jay and Jahim looked to Donovan, who sighed in acceptance. "I guess our desicion's made then."

Once they reported their verdict, and that they were definitely going, it was a non-stop barrage of information. Who to report to, when to do it, where their areas where, and so much more for what felt like an eternity. Then came the largest surprise; they were to leave that afternoon, arriving in Atlas by the next morning. The team had hurriedly begun packing, when Amber and Nero appeared in the doorway.

"So, what did the Headmaster want?" Amber asked.

"Yeah, you guys get a mission after all?" Nero continued.

"Yeah, but we have to leave in like an hour," Jay said, hurriedly gathering numerous tools and pieces and tossing them into a bag. "I gotta run to the forge, 'scuse me guys." Jay brushed past them, before poking her head back in. "I have everything packed, I'll meet you all out at the airship. Got a heavy load to carry out there." She then disappeared, to the sound of a heavy sigh from Alice. Amber meanwhile, was frozen in place.

"Leave now?" Amber said, looking towards Donovan.

"Unfortunately, yes," Donovan replied, not looking up from his bag as he filled it with supplies. "We can't tell you why or where we're going, not even when we'll be back. It's a… complicated manner." He zipped the bag, shouldering it, as Jahim and Alice did the same, the latter also grabbing Jay's supplies. "We were about to head to the airship now. You can… come along, if you like."

Amber flushed slightly, but nodded. "Let me go grab the others. They'll want to see you off too."

The walk to the airship was cheery, with the usual fare of jokes cracked between Porfirio and Alice, Sienna bouncing off the walls, and Amber stealing glances at Donovan, smiling subtly. They reached the airship, finding that several professors, including Ruby, Blake, and Yang, accompanied their supervising party of Oolong, Sun, and Weiss. Ruby was very clearly distressed, latched onto her wife, who seemed to have given up on breaking free. Yang and Blake idly chatted with Sun and Oolong, Yang laughing hard enough to be heard from where the students were. Finally, Headmaster Arc stood looking at the students, a smile forming on his face when they approached the airship.

"Ah, there you are," Jaune said, looking at the group. "Though you seem to be one short."

"Jay's grabbing something from the forge," Alice said, placing her's and Jay's bags inside the Airship.

"I see. Oh, and ASNL, you here to see them off?"

"Yeah," Amber said, waving to her mothers, who waved back. "We didn't know they'd be leaving so soon."

"Ah, well, it couldn't be avoided," Donovan said, placing his bag inside. He walked back out, and faced Amber. "So, er, be safe on your own mission," he said, looking away from her face.

"Uh, you too." Amber said, also turning away. "Bring home some good stories, alright?"

"I'll try to," Donovan replied, before looking back to her and extending his hand. Amber looked back to him, looking into his eyes. She felt herself flush further, being so close to his face. She begun to reach for his hand, before pausing.

"Oh, fuck it," she muttered, and closed the distance, kissing Donovan briefly. His eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing and closing until she pulled back. "Come back to me in one piece, or I'll kick your ass, alright?"

"Of course," Donovan barely managed to get out as he looked around. Blake's eyebrows were raised in surprise, while Porfirio's mouth hung open in shock. Nero and Sienna had expressions of joy smeared on their faces, and Yang was a menagerie of expressions, from anger to disbelief. The Headmaster, as well as the Roses and Sun, merely chuckled as Donovan quickly scuttled onto the ship, attempting to hide from the coming firestorm. Amber turned to her team, smiling.

"Well, we should probably leave them to it. Bye guys, see you when you return!" she shouted, before beginning to walk away, Nero and Sienna quickly following, and Porfirio lagging behind. Suddenly, Yang composed herself, looking towards them.

"Oh no, you don't! You get back here!"

Yang tore after the four of them, who begun running to get away from her. Blake turned to Ruby, her eyes narrowed in disappointment.

"We'd better go after her," Blake said. "Dust knows we don't need her blowing the school apart."

Ruby whined, and turned to Weiss, who rolled her eyes. "Oh I'll be fine, Ruby. I'm more than ready for combat again. Go after your sister."

Ruby sighed again, before reluctantly letting go. She gave a quick hug and kiss goodbye before walking towards where Yang had ran off to. Blake moved towards the ship, looking towards Donovan.

"We'll talk when you return. Good luck on your mission, Mr. Stormbringer." Blake walked away with Ruby, as Jay walked up to the scene, hefting her Locker, of all things.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late, had to carry this thing." Jay paused, surveying the scene around her. "Any reason I passed ASNL getting chased by Xiao Long on the way here?"

"Amber kissed Boss in front of her," Alice snickered as she helped load the locker.

"Aw, fuck, I missed _that_?" She turned to Donovan, who had been attempting to avoid attention since causing such a scene. "Looks like secret's out, eh?"

"Have you ever wished for death on the battlefield?" Donovan deadpanned, putting his head in his hands as his team laughed, and the last of the cargo was loaded. The elder Huntsmen boarded, and the ship finally took off, everyone seated in the main bay. Sun looked toward Donovan, who he was seated next to, and patted him on the back.

"You and Yang's kid huh? Would've never guessed." Sun said.

"Neither would I," Weiss said. "Though I'm sure Yang was the most surprised." The bus echoed with laughter, even Donovan smiling.

"I am sure that it she will come to accept it, Mr. Stormbringer," Oolong said. "She is merely… overprotective of her daughter."

"Indeed, she'll come around," Jaune said. "Though, in case she doesn't, where do you want your remains shipped? I need to know for legal reasons."

The laughter didn't settle for several minutes, and Donovan found himself enjoying it more as time went on. It helped ease the nerves towards the mission, at least. He found himself smiling at the moment, at the very least a conversation starter when he returned.

He suddenly swallowed hard, nerves washing over him yet again. The reality of the mission, and his naggings doubts made him rectify the statement.

It would be a conversation starter _if_ he returned home.


	29. Ice Empress

The airship touched finally touched down after 17 hours of continuous flight, and Jay looked around, the boredom she had been combatting suddenly lifted in favour of curiosity and anxiety to get off the cramped vessel. As she gazed around the ship, she found her companions and elders were all still fast asleep, with even Oolong having entered a power-saving rest mode. This was unsurprising to her, as she was the only one who had fallen asleep at the beginning of the trip. She pulled her scroll from her pocket, quickly doing the math in her head. They set out at around 1 in the afternoon, so it would be around 6 in the morning back at Nikos. A glance at her scroll, which had adjusted for the time zones they had crossed, greeted her with a time of just after 9 in the morning. She grinned at the screen of her scroll, the portrait used for Alice's aura meter having been updated by her, using a picture with her eyes open. Only her scroll had it, but she really enjoyed it. She thought of how her relationship with Alice had helped her become so much more comfortable with herself. Jay now rarely wore sleeves, seeming to truly enjoy exposing her scarred, muscley arms to others. Thoughts of that first date in the cafe always brought smiles to Jay's face, over a month later.

The back door to the airship opened, the noise rousing Jaune from his loud snoring. He looked around, seeing everyone asleep, before turning to Jay. "Good morning, Ms. Merletta. I'd, uh, advise you to cover your ears," Jaune said, before grabbing his sheathed sword by it's handle in both hands. Jay quickly did as she was told before he hit the sword against the metal floor as hard as he could, the harsh sound echoing through the compact area of the airship. Everyone except for Professor Wukong was quickly roused from sleep, the still sleeping faunus quickly awoken by a swift swat to the back of his head by Jaune. "Okay, everyone, we've arrived at the forward base to meet with General Schnee. Hop off the ship, it's time to go!"

The crew exited the airship with a mix of mutters and attentiveness, while Jaune walked to Oolong as they moved towards the General's base.

"Oolong, how is your battery?" Jaune asked.

"I am currently at just under half capacity," Oolong answered. "If they have a stable source of electricity, I should be fine to operate by this evening."

"Good to hear."

As the elders walked in the front, Jay fell back to Alice, watching her observe the area. "You alright, babe?" she said, looking down at her tired girlfriend. "That was kinda a rude awakening, huh?"

"You can say that again," Alice replied before succumbing to a yawn, the noise high pitched and barely audible, Jay blushing at the cute action. "I only hope they have coffee."

"I'm still mad you got me hooked on that sludge, y'know?"

"It's not my fault you insist on drinking it black."

"Yeah, well all the sugar and additives you put in yours aren't very good for those muscles you're so fond of." Jay relished in the slight flush the comment got out of Alice. "I mean, I know you're working with at least a third less muscle mass, but seriously, those cups of ichor you brew every morning are horrible for you."

"Well, the key is it getting me through the morning. Have to get it down somehow." She shrugged, before elbowing Jay's arm. "Plus, I've got something better to get me through the days."

Jay smiled, red creeping it's way back onto her face. "Aww, that's sweet."

"Unlike your coffee."

The two laughed, before being interrupted by a tired Jahim from behind them. "Yeah, uh, if you two could wait until we're all fully awake, that'd be awesome."

The two stifled their laughter to quiet giggling as the group entered the large warehouse that had been turned into a makeshift base. There was still some time until they were scheduled to meet the General, so Team SAJJ retired to a side room, coffee in all but Donovan's hands as they sat around each other, and begun to wonder what lied ahead of them.

At promptly 10 o'clock sharp, the group entered the General's chamber, Weiss and Jaune standing at the head of the group. Weiss stood as tall as she could, propped upon her cane without any wavering in her posture as she looked at her sister for the first time in more than two decades. Jaune's hand was firmly on the grip of his sword as he stood near Weiss, clearly not trusting of the General just yet. It was only when the doors behind the 8 of them shut that the General finally rose from her seat.

Winter Schnee was far different than the last any of them had seen her, that first day of the Vytal Tournament so many years ago. She wore armour resembling that of a knight's plate armour, thin and contoured to her form, with some metal framework articulating underneath. Jay noted the telltale whirring of external power armour similar to her own coming from the suit. The left shoulder plate flared upward, resembling a wing, and a rapier sat at her hip. The only thing exposed was her head, her hair tied in a short bun, and her face as unblemished as it was stern and observing. She walked around her desk, stopping in front of Weiss. She eyed her sister up and down briefly, her eye lingering on the prosthetic leg.

"Sister," Winter finally said, her voice softly hoarse, a result of aging.

"Hello, Winter," Weiss said, extending one hand for a handshake, the other remaining firmly planted on her cane. "It is good to see you after all this ti-"

Weiss was cut off by an abrupt hug from Winter, the latter foregoing the former's handshake.

"You're here…"

"I got your message," Weiss said, smiling as she reciprocated the hug with her free arm.

"I'm just glad you're alright," Winter said, releasing Weiss from the hug, a smile gracing her features as well. "The Atlesian file on you stops after you left. I was wondering how you had fared, I was unable to do anything but send word. You look well."

"You look better. You're nearly 50 yet you look better than I do." She laughed shortly.

"May I ask how…" Winter said, her eyes drifting again to the metal limb Weiss now relied on. "It was missing when you returned to reclaim the SD...RDC. I never found out how it occurred."

"Adam Taurus dropped a cargo container containing an old Paladin suit on it," Weiss said, the grip on the top of her cane tightening. "I was forced to self-amputate and continue the battle. I only recently obtained the prosthetic. I figured if my son was going to fight, I shouldn't let myself rot on the sidelines."

"Son?" Winter's eyes went wide, and Weiss allowed herself a much longer bout of laughter.

"Yes, a son, and I have a daughter as well. It seems we have plenty to catch up on."

"Yes, plenty." Winter said, before snapping her attention to two soldiers flanking the door, both of whom were in a state of bewilderment at seeing the General smile for such a long period. Winter's face promptly snapped back to stern, before she begun barking orders. "You two! Prepare a separate barracks for the 8 of them. They're here to aid the effort."

The two soldiers hurriedly saluted in response before running out of the room. Winter turned her attention now to Jaune, who had relaxed his grip somewhat. "Mr. Arc."

"General. It's good to see your motive wasn't sour."

"And I am glad that you yourself decided to come. If the files are not lying, you will prove a tremendous asset with that semblance you possess." Winter's eyes drifted to SAJJ, standing in the back of the room. "Though, I question your choice in bringing children to a warzone."

"With all due respect, general, it wasn't too much further into the three of ours own first year that we were thrown into the Fall. I don't plan on sending anyone into that kind of environment without proper experience. This is merely a touch more… hands on than what we usually do."

Winter's eyes narrowed, before her gaze relented. "Very well. I will respect your judgment. Just know that they're _your_ responsibility, Arc."

"I'm well aware."

Winter turned her head to address the whole group. "You all will not be asked to do combat your first day here, but I expect you all to make yourselves useful on base. Assist anywhere that it's necessary." She turned to her sister. "Weiss, I would like to catch up over tea, if that is acceptable."

"Yes, that would be lovely." Weiss said.

"The rest of you are dismissed." Winter said. The 7 of them left the room, before looking around at everything to be done, and splitting off to assist in any way they could. By the time they retired to their barracks, they were all tired and dirty, save for Weiss and Oolong, the former enjoying the company of her sister, while the latter merely charged for the day. The remainder of the group merely fell into their beds, aiming to get plenty of sleep for their first day of combat tomorrow.


	30. Two Steps Back

" _This is Beastmaster, calling for check-in on team B,"_ crackled a voice over the Epsilon Radio Channel. The voice originated from a figure cloaked in a full body suit, the cloth and kevlar dyed similar greys and blacks to the architecture of the ruined buildings around them, a single band of deep green unique to his squad sewed into his sleeve. There were two tears in the hood to allow for white horns to pierce the veil, and the recently black painted barrel of his Spear-Rifle gleamed slightly in the sunlight as he looked through the scope down the sightline towards the 2 positions for the rest of Epsilon Squad. He spied two similarly dressed members to him, the green bands on their uniforms giving him the information he needed as they slid silently into position. The shorter figure covered in belts of handguns and knives raised on hand to their ear, and a smoother, female voice pierced the silence.

" _This is Butterfly. I'm locked and loaded, and prepared to engage. Requesting intel on the targets ahead."_

Another male voice, decidedly less stern than the first, responded. " _This is Phoenix. I've got eyes on them. Squadron of 16 troopers of varying class. Walking in standard formation, Captain in front, shotguns covering flanks, and riflemen inside the pack. Priority goes to the 8 soldiers in the middle columns when striking from an Air-DB. Without their riflemen they're unlikely to be able to respond quickly enough. Captain also seems to be wearing portable tech on his left arm. Preserve it if you can, it could contain intel of use."_

" _Got it,"_ Butterfly said, before turning to face the giant soldier behind her, black wings sprouting from her back around a large black pack resting in between them. " _You prepared, Crow?"_

" _Ready as ever,"_ Crow said, black, steel armour enveloping her arms. " _Your orders, Beastmaster?"_

" _Phoenix has the visual. Move on his mark."_

There was a brief lull as all four members prepared for the engagement. Suddenly, Phoenix's voice broke through. " _Mark!"_

Crow lobbed Butterfly over the adjacent wall of the ruined building they were standing in, her flying over the nearby street the pack of soldiers was walking along. She quickly drew two silenced Handcannons before effortlessly executing each one with a single shot while in the air, making sure to stick to Phoenix's calls. As she landed, hot casings clattered to the ground around her as the bodies crumpled to the ground. Butterfly quickly retrieved the portable tech from the arm of the Captain before fleeing to the security of the cover she had been dwelling in. " _Everything checking out? No alerts?"_

" _My radar's clean,"_ Crow said, her helmet having snapped over her cowl. " _Team A should remain alert for some time as usual, but it looks clear. Tech looks like good shit too."_

Beastmaster found himself smiling underneath the cowl he wore, thankful for it's guard against the late autumn chill. He then sighed, moving his face from his rifle's scope and to his scroll's photo application. His eyes lingered on the one photo he had taken with Amber, and on his own face. The smiling faunus in the photo seemed a different person than the faint reflection he saw of himself in the glass. He thought somewhat bitterly to himself about Nikos, and found himself wondering how ASNL was faring. If Amber was still waiting for him…

He sighed, and replaced his scroll before returning to attentiveness. He briefly remembered the time when they had just begun fighting, when they thought that they'd be helping wrap up the conflict, and they'd be home before they knew it.

It had taken a full two months of bitter, bitter wartime to shake that optimism completely from Donovan Stormbringer.

* * *

The team awoke from their first night of sleep on the base sore from being unused to the stiff cots used in the barracks. The group showered and dressed themselves before shuffling into the mess hall just before 7 in the morning, each taking their tray of breakfast rations and sitting as a full group of 8 at a table in the far corner, eating and discussing their future day.

"So, what are our orders after breakfast, Headmaster?" Donovan asked, wincing from the bitterness of the black coffee he was unused to.

"We're to report to the General for assignment, among other things." Jaune replied.

"Assignment?" Jay asked through her mouthful of corn.

"Basically, the Ice Empress is gonna put us where we help the effort best," Sun said. "Us huntsmen are pretty much specialists, so putting us in the right place is super important. Could win the war by itself, really."

"Are huntsmen really that impactful?" Alice asked, seeming hesitant to dig into any of the undefinable mashed foods on her tray.

"Indeed they are," Oolong said, his hands folded where his tray would have been. "Huntsman Academies have long since adapted their curriculums to dealing with organized militaries after the disaster of the Fall. In addition, my statistics show that over 90 percent of the soldiers in this academy have not had their aura unlocked or trained at all, meaning blows that would merely glance off of you or I would prove lethal to them. You students could easily take on a full squadron of soldiers by yourselves should you fight well. Weiss, Sun, or I could take on multiple. As for Headmaster Arc," Oolong briefly paused, a digital chuckle escaping his speaker. "His capabilities could easily win this war by themselves."

"Oolong, you're overselling me," Jaune said, laughing at the high praise. "I'm not _that_ strong."

"That's bullshit, but let's move on," Sun said before taking a long drink. "I'm really wondering where they're gonna put Oolong and I."

"True, the two of you are rather vexing to place militarily," Weiss said, closing her eyes to thing. "Oolong easily fits in a tactician's tent, but forgive me for saying that doesn't suit you."

"No, no, you're right, fuck that," Sun said, scratching the back of his head. "Gah, I'm just not built for military."

"I wonder more about our younger companions," Oolong said, gesturing to the group of students.

"I'll guess we'll just have to see," Jaune said, as the group quietly finished up and moved towards the General's office.

The General had the children wait outside during the placement of their superiors, and the four sat on a bench near the door, when their elders exited, and directed them into the room. Once they entered, standing in a line, Winter walked down the line of the four, handing each a folder.

"These contain your assignments, as well as your equipment requisitions and any information you'll need. You will each be given a temporary rank within our army, though I ask you not use it to harass other soldiers you outrank. All of you but Mr. Stormbringer have been given the rank of Lieutenant, while Mr. Stormbringer has been given the rank of Major." As she reached Alice at the end of the line, she smiled at the worried expression on the younger woman's face. "Don't worry, I had it printed in braille."

"Oh thank goodness," Alice sighed in relief.

"Er, not that I don't appreciate it, but why am I a higher rank than my teammates?" Donovan asked, looking over some of the information in his folder, looking quizzically at the second, fully enclosed folder nestled within.

"That is because of those folders, and why I asked to see the four of you separately," Winter said, standing in front of all four once again. "This information is classified to the four of us, and I am putting a great deal of trust in the four of you." She paused. "I trust you know that a breach of this trust is grounds for criminal charges, correct?"

The four nodded nervously.

"Good. In those folders you will find additional equipment requisition sheets, and further information, including an individual barracks for the four of you. I'll put this as simply as as I can." She pressed a button on her desk, and a screen appeared behind her, containing photos and information on the four of them. "I've read the dossiers given to me on the four of you. You all fight well, but share the interesting trait that you work well _together_. In this conflict, time is short. With the nature of a military coup being the catalyst for a war, and without the interference of other nations, you cannot afford the luxury of setting aside combat ready troops for specialized training to act as a squad. You need to mobilize every able body as soon as you can. That is why being given a group of powerful huntsmen, far above the combat capabilities of anything my father's army has, while also already functioning tightly as a unit is a game changing aspect." She paused once more breathing deeply. "I am making you my Black Ops team, Team EPSILON. You will operate outside of my military's standard operations, taking out key targets, clearing certain LZs for flanking operations, performing reconnaissance, and other such tasks. You will operate directly under me, and will be relieved of other combat service while not deployed. You will be given your own communications channel, encrypted with a key only the five of us will possess, and will change every 24 hours. Your callsigns are listed within the information inside that second folder, and you are to only use those on the channel when referring to each other. Is all of this clear?"

"Only one question," Jahim said. "What are we to tell our instructors?"

"Nothing," Winter coldly replied. "They were instructed not to intrude into your assignment, and I will hold them to that. They may be your ranked superiors within the Army, but your information has very specific clearance, that is grounds for charges should they breach it, intentionally or otherwise." She paused once more. "Now, are there any further questions?"

There was several seconds of dead air.

"Good. Now, file the equipment requisition forums outside the second folders today, and proceed to your assignment on base for the remainder of the day. Do not submit the second forum until the time of your first assignment as a team. You will be alerted via a page to Mr. Stormbringer's pager that he will receive. You are dismissed."

The four exited the room, noticing the absence of their mentors before heading to the equipment depot. They briefly looked over their primary assignments with each other as they walked.

"I'm to report to the mess," Donovan said. "Apparently I'm to assist with cooking there."

"I'm working with munitions," Alice said, chuckling. "Man, Nero would go nuts for this job, the gun nut."

"It looks like I'm, ugh, _filing_ ," Jahim sighed. "What is it with me and having to do paperwork?"

"Maybe you're just good at it?" Jay pondered out loud with a smirk, earning her a death glare from Jahim. "Well, I'm working in the depot on repairs and such." Her smile widened. "Ooh, I wonder if the General'll let me upgrade my tech with _military_ grade stuff. I'll bet they've got some cool fucking toys in there."

The group laughed as they acquired their equipment, and parted for their jobs on base.


	31. Briefing

The base-wide alarm woke the team at the second the clock hit 0600, Donovan and Jahim snapping out of bed, and both looking to their two teammates. Alice was groggily shifting herself into an upright position, covering her mouth as she yawned, while Jay had slept through the piercing alarm, and was only awoken when a pillow tossed by Jahim collided with her head. The two girls reluctantly rose with their teammates, Jay having to stand in the middle of the room to fully stretch her wings out to full span. The group hastily rotated into the room's built in restroom, each showering and changing before the group moved to the mess to enjoy a quick breakfast before working. The group sat down, paltry helpings of breakfast foods on their trays, cups of black coffee in each of their hands. They ate in silence for a period, before Jahim spoke around the cup of coffee firmly glued to his lip.

"So, how is everyone's assignment?" he asked.

"It's interesting," Donovan said, eating a spoonful of mashed… _something_. "The procedure for cooking food that both contains as little material as possible and is yet calorie filled is intriguing. There's a _lot_ of coconut oil in almost everything."

"Gah, explains why this paste is actually edible," Jay said. "It's fucking half fat." She looked hard at the slop, before shrugging, and eating another bite. "Well, the workshop's something else. I got approval from the General to use the discarded tech they've got there to improve my armour, as long as it's on my own time. Just yesterday, I was able to make some awesome advances, though some of them are, uh, untested."

"Well, munitions is boring," Alice said. "It's mostly just sorting. It's like filing paperwork but I'm carrying several hundred pounds of equipment."

Jay drank a large portion of her coffee in one drink, before breaking another silence. "I wonder what kind of ops the General's going to have us running."

"I was thinking about it last night," Alice said, her vision dropping. "Call be pessimistic, but… I wonder if we've jumped into something more than we bargained for."

The group jumped in surprise at the sound of beeping suddenly cutting through the air. Donovan reached to his belt, withdrawing the pager he had bing given. The message on it indicated it was the General hailing them.

"Looks like we're going to go find out," Donovan said as the four quickly finished their meals, before rising and making their way to the General's office.

"I'm glad you all arrived so quickly," General Schnee said, pacing in front of the four students. "I was under the impression younger folk like yourselves would still be asleep at this time in the morning."

"I ensured we would be prepared for explicitly this scenario, General," Donovan said.

"And I thank you for that, Major. Now," She stopped in front of Donovan, before pressing a button on a remote she procured from her pocket, whereupon a screen with Donovan's file appeared behind her. "I've read your file extensively, Major. Your semblance is unlike anything I've seen, and I've seen Colonel Arc's monstrous power. I want you to confirm a few things for me."

"Okay," Donovan said hesitantly.

"First, you say that while you can only 'tame' a single grimm at a time, your aura of pacification towards the beasts remains, correct?"

"Yes."

"Next, you say you've never tamed anything larger than an Ursa Major, but when you tame a grimm, it never regresses, correct?"

"Yes. As long as I'm alive, the beast will remain peaceful and loyal to my command."

"And lastly," the General said, a smile creeping onto her face, "have you tried anything bigger?"

"Come again?" Donovan said, his face once again twisted in confusion.

"I said, have you ever _tried_ taming anything larger?"

"I… have not," Donovan said. "The risk is too great. I could easily lose consciousness, and be at the mercy of the beast."

"But with your team behind you, would you try?"

"What?" Donovan was consumed by confusion yet again. The General snickered before pressing another key on her remote, an image of a large warehouse shown on the screen.

"This is a warehouse in a district in the downtown main city of Atlas. It's heavily guarded, and is entirely soundproofed. That is because inside," she pressed another switch, and the image shifted to one of a heavily restrained giant Nevermore, surrounded by equipment and scientists, "is a laboratory where they're trying to do the same thing you can do."

"What on Remnant…" Jahim said, gaping at the image.

"How did they get it _in_ there?" Jay asked incredulously. "It's in the middle of the damn city!"

"That is unknown to us, but what we do know is while they've made little progress towards _controlling_ it, they've made large strides in learning of how grimm morphology shifted after the Fall. What I want EPSILON to do is to infiltrate this warehouse. The surrounding town is long since evacuated, so the only thing to worry about is enemy soldiers. You are to infiltrate the building, kill everyone inside, take any intelligence on the grimm, as well as any unidentified tech, and then attempt to tame the Nevermore. Having a weapon as powerful as that beast on our faction could easily close this war."

Alice froze at the request of him and his team. "Kill… everyone?"

"Yes," the General replied coldly. "There is no reason to take any of them alive. Their data is almost guaranteed to be stored on easily accessible devices, and it is unlikely to be worth interrogating them for further intelligence. Our time is better spent simply eliminating the threat. Is that a problem, Lieutenant?"

"No, General. No it is not." Alice said, her resolve recovering.

"Good. Are there any other questions on your assignment?"

There was again the chilling air of silence in the room.

"Good. Fill out the additional equipment requisition forums I gave you at assignment, as well as this one here." She handed Donovan another enclosed folder. "Once you're suited up, make your way to the heliport at the south end of the base. Your airship departs at 1200 sharp. Dismissed!"

The four saluted before silently leaving the office, and filing the forums, receiving bulky, full body suits that were dyed the same monochromatic shades as the buildings around them, save for a single deep green band around each one's left arm. The suits were tailor made to fit each person's specifications, with Donovan's hood having holes for his horns and Jay's having backslits for her wings. By the time they were properly suited, everyone was covered from head to toe, only differentiable by body shape. Donovan also received a small device to wear around his forearm, it lying thinly along his arm, a touch screen on the back.

"Aw, you got a portable tech!" Jay said, her voice slightly muffled by the facemask. "That's basically a portable computer. I'm sure all the data we need's on it."

Indeed it was; upon booting the device, Donovan was greeted to aura readings of his teammates, as well as a full readout of the mission parameters. The last parameter caught his eye as they walked to the heliport.

 _Upon the notion that there is no concievable way to avoid capture by the enemy, EPSILON team members are to enact the Ironwood Protocol without hesitation._

"Ironwood Protocol?" Donovan said.

"Oh shit." Jahim said, looking at the screen. "I read about that in the paperwork yesterday. Apparently, Ironwood defecting was never told to the Atlesian military. To keep morale, it was said he was to be captured, and instead killed himself to avoid leaking information to the enemy. IT basically means if we know we're going to get captured, we need to, er, kill ourselves."

Donovan swore he felt the air grow heavier as they walked outside. They boarded the airship, and it took off towards their destination. No one said another word until the flight landed.


	32. Mission Alpha

EPSILON squad moved in the shadows, choosing to stalk their way through the ruined alleyways of the wartorn district of Central Atlas, until they reached the warehouse that was their destination. Sitting in an abandoned building nearby, they all joined their comm channel, Each checking their link.

" _Beastmaster, checking commlink."_ Donovan said

" _Butterfly, checking. Mine seems to work."_ Alice replied.

" _Crow, yadda yadda."_ Jay said.

" _Phoenix, looks good on my end."_ Jahim confirmed.

" _Alright, let's go over the plan."_

Donovan pressed a button on his portable tech, and a hard light display of the warehouse map was visible to everyone. Thanks to the artificial density of the hard light constructs, even Alice was able to see them. Donovan begun by pointing at two windows on either flank of the warehouse.

" _These are our points of entry,"_ he said as he pointed. " _Alice and I will enter at opposite windows, and move through the warehouse. Guards are posted at the following locations, if our video signal is trustworthy."_ Several soldiers manifested, some standing stil while others patrolled. " _Butterfly, do you have suppressors for you weapons?"_

" _Yup,"_ Alice replied, " _picked them up earlier."_

" _Good,"_ Donovan said, continuing. " _You and I will act independently, killing as many guards as we can silently and without tripping an alarm. Avoid killing civilians, but kill them if they would raise an alarm. Our goal is complete eradication of enemy armed forces, without the raising of an alarm. If an alarm is raised, then Crow and Phoenix will enter through this wall."_ A portion of one wall vanished. " _Crow will demolish the wall, and you two will enter the fray, killing any and all in sight. In either scenario, once the situation is stable, we will move into phase two. Once that begins, all members surround and protect me until the process is finished. Is all that clear?"_

There was a moment of nodding from the team, and Donovan silently beckoned them into position. Alice and Donovan both propped open the windows they stood behind, observing guard patterns before silently slipping in. Donovan walked quietly, thankful for his training in tracking beasts for the lingering muscle memory of quiet walking as he stalked up behind one guard, cupping his hand over his mouth before drawing the shorter of his two spears and slashing the guard's throat. When the body stilled, he laid it down behind some boxes and continued onward, towards another guard about to meet a similar fate.

Alice drew several knives from her harness, loading them into the custom mechanisms in her hands. Each hand held three knives, and she walked quietly down a hall, until she spotted a guard. She quickly walked behind him, wrapping her arm around his neck before jerking it to the side, a muffled crackling drowning the words in his throat. Scooting the corpse to a hidden location, she moved forward, spying a lone guard ahead of her. She steadied her hand, and in an instant a knife shot from it's mechanism, whistling softly as the metal burrowed into the back of the guard's skull. The body slumped over, and she quickly moved it as well.

Both Donovan and Alice continued for well over fifteen minutes, slaughtering the guards in silence until a body Alice had hidden was found. An alarm was raised, and guards begun actively seeking the pair. The remained in the shadows, hiding while Donovan sent the silent radio signal to Jay and Jahim outside.

" _That's the signal. Time to move, Phoenix."_

" _Wait, what's stopping them from shooting us when you blow the hole open?"_ Jahim said, his voice full of sudden panic. " _We're sitting ducks!"_

" _Don't worry,"_ Jay replied, " _I've got this handled."_

Jay's armour formed around her, and she wound back, before punching the wall with both arms, sending debris flying into the building. As guards turned with their weapons drawn to the newly formed entrance, Jay raised her arm, and a panel on it opened. Suddenly, a field of blue energy flowed from the openings, forming a transparent circle in front of the both of them, absorbing all of the bullets.

" _What on Remnant…"_ Jahim said, his eyes going wide.

" _Hard light barrier. You can fire through it, it's one way. Light 'em up, Phoenix!"_

Jahim pulled his rifle from his back, and sure enough, the first shot he fired went straight through the barrier and the target violently exploded. Jahim continued to fire as he and Jay advanced, while Donovan and Alice took the opportunity to leap from the shadows, slashing and shooting their way through more guards. Alice became her usual whirlwind of gunfire, her aim true and unrelenting, while Donovan lept from target to target in a beastlike manner, slashing and tearing his way through his opposition. In the end, the four cleared the base in a total of fifty seven minutes, with all hostiles, and unfortunately, all unarmed civilian scientists killed. The four stood in front of the restrained Nevermore, it's muffled cries having been a backdrop for their combat, and now being the only sound in the warehouse. Its large beak nearly touched the ground, and Donovan walked towards it, turning back to the rest of his team.

" _I'm not going to stop the process until it succeeds, or I'm unable to continue. In the latter case, radio for the base. Otherwise, it's time to begin."_

The other three snapped to guard various entrances as Donovan removed the glove on his left hand, and placed the hand on the beak of the beast. He closed his eyes, and felt his semblance begin to attempt the process of taming the giant. In the process, Donovan begun to feel as the beast did, the anger within it. The beast was centuries old, and had always fought with mankind. It was filled with nothing but the bitter rage, and Donovan begun trying as hard as he could to remove it. He felt the beast's wrath ebb and flow as his heart beated, as he breathed in and out. Slowly, the red markings on the grimm's skull begun to softly tint brown. Donovan felt the anger begin to fade slowly, calm taking its place.

It was only after around ten minutes that Donovan knew something was going wrong. Fatigue was gripping at him, he knew his aura was beginning to wane from the stress his semblance brought on. He grimaced, grabbing hold of his left arm with his right, and attempting to maintain the flow. Sudden, and sharp pain begun to appear, first in his hand, then his arm, then exploding all over the left side of his body as his aura shattered from the force. He begun to shout in agony, yet he felt how close he was. Finally, just as Jay had turned to look, a sickening, juicy popping sound cut the air as Donovan fell to his knees. The team all ran to their leader, and they all gasped at the sight of him. The suit covering his left arm was torn away, and what lied underneath was bruising and protrusions of an arm shattered, likely beyond repair. They looked to the face of their panting leader, and Jay and Jahim gasped in shock.

" _N-no way…"_ Jay sputtered.

" _What? Is something wrong with his face?"_ Alice asked, unable to make out the details.

" _Yeah,"_ Jahim said, his skin beneath the face scarf paling. " _Something is very wrong._ "

Blood currently oozed from Donovan's left eye socket, the force of the rapidly flowing aura having violently popped the sensitive organ, leaving him completely blind in the eye. Yet, when he turned his gaze back up, Donovan smiled through his panting. He shakily raised his working hand, and touched the beak of the grimm. The team looked, and Jay and Jahim again gasped. The lines on the beast's skull were all a full, deep brown, and it's once crimson eyes were now dyed a shade that matched the marks.

" _Beastmaster, you did it."_ Jahim said. " _Mission successful._ "

" _Let… him go."_ Donovan said weakly, and Jay hurriedly ran to the console. She ran through the settings, and steam hissed from ventilation grates as the pins holding the goliath bird in place retracted. The grimm shrieked loudly as it stretched its wings, before returning its head down to Donovan. " _Listen for the whistle boy. Until then… stay in the shadows."_. The beast shouted in reply, before tearing its way out of the warehouse and back into the skies. Donovan smiled, and fell backwards onto his back, succumbing to unconsciousness. Jahim grasped his shoulders, trying to wake him up.

" _Beastmaster? Major? Donovan?!"_

His voice grew more panicked with each name, as Jay hurriedly radioed the base.

" _This is Crow from EPSILON team. We need evacuation ASAP. The mission was a success, but the Major has been gravely,"_ She swallowed, " _potentially fatally wounded."_


	33. Humming, not Heartbeat

EPSILON sat around the gurney that held up Donovan while the airship flew, the only noise in the bay emanating from the life support keeping him stable. The other three sat in silence, unsure what to say as they surrounded their wounded leader. It was none of their faults, that wasn't a discussion that had to happen. Donovan had known the risks of what he was doing. If anything, it was his commitment to the mission that got him this injured. Still, the mission was a wholesome success; the data retrieved was plentiful, and the army had a powerful new tool in the tamed Nevermore.

 _If Donovan survives_ , Jay thought, as she looked at his arm. She knew it was beyond saving, even with biotic technology. The portable tech on the arm was also busted, though she wondered if the memory could be salvaged. The speaker next to them crackled to life, and a gruff voice indicated to them that they would be landing soon. The team quickly rose to their feet as the jet touched down, and assisted the crew on quickly moving Donovan and the life support attached to him off the plane. The crew whisked him away and down a hall, and Alice moved to follow them, but Jay quickly put her hand on Alice's shoulder.

"We'll just get in the way. We need to trust the medics." Jay noticed Alice not respond, she shook her shoulder slightly. "C'mon, Al. Let's go back to the barracks. We deserve a rest."

Alice didn't respond, she only began moving toward the barracks, the other two following her. She set her equipment down, before turning to the other two.

"I'm gonna go shower," Alice said weakly, before disappearing into the bathroom. Jahim shrugged, before setting his own gear down.

"I'm off to go get something to eat," He said.

"Sure thing," Jay said, sitting down on her bunk. She looked towards the bathroom, a frown emerging on her face. "I'm gonna chill here. Something's just not sitting right with me."

"Alright. If I hear anything, I'll ping you, alright?"

"Gotcha."

As Jahim left the room, behind the closed bathroom door, Alice stood in the center of the room, lost in her own thoughts. She sighed, before removing the top half of her suit. As she reached for the waist of her pants, she felt her thumb brush against the seam where the synthetic flesh of her abdomen met the real flesh of her hip. She dug the edge of her thumb into the seam, a small gap forming. She felt her temperament shift as she begun peeling the piece of faux flesh back, the segment giving way and coming off in her hand. She couldn't see what lied beneath, but she noticed her hand dipping into crevices and pits in her metal body. She felt herself grow more upset as she peeled off the other side, less carefully, casting it aside, and feeling the same lack of smoothness, it replaced by the same unfeeling metal that her arms were made of. She grew angry, and began tearing aggressively at the pieces of synthetic flesh, tossing them aside in a heap and just staring at them, a mound of lies about what she really was. More machine than woman, more killer than child. Her mind raced as she thought of the mission, as she grasped her head and fell to her knees. She begun to cry, first softly, and then angrily, mad at herself for what she had done. She slammed a metal fist into the ground, shattering the ceramic tile it had landed on. She briefly stopped when she heard pounding at the door, and Jay's voice asking if she was okay, but that only made it worse, the thought of what _she_ would think. Her attention was again stolen by the sound of wood splintering, as Jay's powerful leg kicked the door off it's hinges. Jay's vision went wide at Alice's form, her skin torn off, and her mechanical augments visible. She finally saw just _how_ much of her was cybernetic, and it was more than she had previously told her. Alice's entire top half, aside from her head, and she assumed some parts of her neck, were entirely robotic. Pistons mimicked jugular veins on her neck, and the smooth, gunmetal steel that coated her arms extended across her upper torso, her lower torso looking like a nest of synthetic muscle. Alice quickly raised her arms to cover where her breasts would have been, now a smooth metal surface. Jay's mouth gaped open at the sight.

"Alice… what have you…"

"Jay… Jay I… I…" Alice couldn't finish her thought before collapsing back into sobs, moving her arms to support her as her body shook. Jay ran to her, placing her hands on her shoulders as she kneeled down.

"Alice, please, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"D-don't look at me." She said, unmoving from her position.

"A little late for that." Jay said, again looking at the mechanics of Alice's body. "Why did you do this to yourself?"

"I just… I can't live this _lie_ anymore!" she suddenly shouted.

"Lie? What are you talking about?" Jay asked, sudden panic filling her.

"This!" she said, finally moving her arm to point at her faintly whirring mechanical chest, where her pump-like heart hid. "All of this! That I'm a person! That I'm anything more than a weapon!"

"Alice, what are you talking about?" Jay said, beginning to shout with Alice.

"At that damned warehouse, I killed _thirty-six_ people. Thirty-six lives ended without a question. And I did it well. Every throw, every shot, everything was perfect because I'm more machine than woman!" She was shrieking hysterically now. "I can't see, I can't touch, I can't do anything but fucking _kill_! I'm nothing but a fucking tool! A tool that breaks down when it does it's job!"

"Alice!" Jay shouted, making Alice pause. Jay panted briefly. "Please… please stop." Her voice squeaked with a sob as tears began to flow. " _Please._ You're way more than some tool, okay?" She reached forward, pulling Alice into a hug. "Remember when you came to the gym after the tower fell, and talked me out of my funk? Or when I was having trouble with my classes, and you'd help? Or any of the other times you've helped me or anyone else? You're a human being, Alice! It doesn't matter how much of you is machinery. You're kinder, smarter, and more caring than anyone I've ever met. So when you say you don't see any of that, that all you think of yourself of as is some weapon, it breaks my heart. You're not a weapon, You're Alice. You're my partner, my _girlfriend_. Please, _please_ …" Jay began softly crying into Alice's shoulder, the latter having stopped completely.

"But.." Alice began, "But I look like…"

"You think I care about looks?" Jay shouted. "You think I've _ever_ cared about what you look like? I was so embarrassed about how I looked that I never wore anything without long sleeves until _you_ complimented me, until _you_ gave me the confidence to show myself off, to not care what others think. Why would you think that would ever matter?" She leaned back, and removed Alice's tear-stained blindfold. Alice instinctlively fluttered open her eyes, the pale blue colour contrasting with the crimson that looked into them. "I don't care, I've never cared, I never _will_ care. You're not a tool. You're not a weapon. You're not hideous. You're _you._ " She wiped her eyes, a smile forming on her face. "I… I love you, Alice. So please, love yourself."

Alice felt shock at the admission, blood rushing to her already reddened face. She immediately became aware of how close they were, and felt herself closing the distance. The kiss was soft, Jay initially hesitant, before pushing back herself, the two drawing each other close. The broke apart, their foreheads resting together as they breathed softly.

"I love you too, Jay," Alice said quietly, sniffling slightly as a smile wormed it's way onto her face. "Thank you."

The two remained in eachother's arms for some time, before Alice spoke up again. "Er, not to ruin the moment, but, eh, how am I supposed to shower when you broke the door down?"

Jay begun to laugh, Alice following suit, the two laughing loudly for a long time. When Jahim finally returned, he found the two of them on Jay's bunk, Alice nestled into the larger girl, Jay's wings enveloping them both as they slept. Neither had ended up showering, and Jahim would've thought it were a cute moment in this bleak place, were it not for the splintered remains of their bathroom door piled in the corner with a note attached, ' _Sorry!'_ crudely scrawled across it. Jahim sighed and gave up, washed his face in the sink, and too succumbed to his exhaustion.

Donovan's eyes slowly fluttered open, a groan escaping his lips. He was immediately aware of the oxygen mask over his face as his vision cleared. He saw a nurse in the room jump at the noise, before hurriedly running out of the room shouting something along the lines of 'He's awake!'. He figured he must have been out for some time, given that reaction. He tried to recall what he could have done to land himself in the hospital, before the memory of what had happened surged back into him. His eyes went wide, before he instinctively moved to touch his left eye. He stopped his hand just short of his face, as he saw it. Where his left hand should have been, was a hand made of gleaming silver metal. He looked to his side, and it seemed to continue all the way up to his shoulder, and some distance into his chest. He found his gaze shift to a mirror on the opposite wall, and while the sight of his metal arm was very prominent, what stood out even more was his left eye. Where the popped, bloody remains of the organ should have been was a small, grey sphere, with a small red lens at the center that moved as his gaze did. His breath begun to accelerate, and his heart began beating much faster than the heart monitor had been before he had made the revelation. Doctors came in, and tried to settle him down. He eventually did calm, simply staring at his new appendage. The doctors in the room observed him as he stared.

"Do you need anything, Major?"

"I... " Donovan said, his voice hoarse from disuse, his gaze remaining unbroken from his arm. "I need to talk to the General."


	34. Not Down Yet

Donovan's gaze was still on his arm when the familiar clacking of high heeled boots begun echoing toward him. He finally broke the sight on the new mechanical limb when General Schnee, as well as Oolong and Headmaster Arc, walked into the room. The three looked at Donovan, who returned the stare. It was the General who broke the silence, speaking as sternly and authoritatively as ever.

"Major Stormbringer, I'm glad that you're awake. We were beginning to worry about you."

"I, uh, know you've gotta have some questions," Jaune said, "so please, ask away. We'll answer anything you need to know."

Donovan wasted no time in responding. "Is everyone else okay?"

"Yes," the General said. "The rest of your team returned without injury, though Lieutenant Tuyet has shed her synthetic flesh, now preferring to expose her prosthetics."

Donovan sighed and laid back on the bed, elevated high enough to that he still faced the three superiors. "Thank goodness. I was worried that if this happened, they might've been caught out helping me." His gaze wandered back to his arm. "What was the procedure? What was replaced?"

"Most of the left side of your torso, I am afraid," Oolong said. "The ribcage was heavily fractured, there was deadened flesh all across the pectoral and abdominal muscles, and your heartrate had become extremely irregular. The bones and flesh in your arm were completely unsalvageable, even given decades the limb would never function again. All of your internal organs, save for your heart, were able to be saved and are still organic. However, the arm and muscles all had to be replaced, and the heart has been replaced with a synthetic model not unlike Alice'was removed in favour of a pumping system not unlike Alice's. As for the optical organ, it was obviously irreparable, and was replaced with the current model in your eye."

"Yes," the General cut in, "your optic prosthetic can alter your vision in that eye through several filters, and responds to neural command. The manual will be provided at discharge from the medbay, but until then I would advise you to not play with it."

Donovan balled the metal hand into a fist, noting the lack of any and all feeling. "Will I need physical reconditioning, to re-attain control over the arm?"

"Actually, the response time of your friends was very fortunate here," Oolong said. "The muscle memory was only gone for a few hours before the limb was replaced. You shouldn't have any differences in movement currently, though the disadvantage of this is that you will be unable to use the augment's full power until conditioning is done."

"That's fine to me. As long as I won't have downtime." He sighed, before laying all the way against his pillow. "Can you send my team in here? I need to talk to them about… all of this."

"Sure thing," Jaune said. "Oolong and I will fetch them for you." He beckoned, and the Robot followed, leaving the General and Donovan alone in the room. The General again broke the silence.

"I know what's on your mind. 'Why didn't we ask?', correct?"

"No, actually," Donovan replied.

"Oh?"

"You valued our skill and overwhelming success at the last mission. We were a proven powerful asset, and one you didn't want to lose so, well, poetically, if I may. You made a call, and you being my superior, I'll respect it." A smile finally crept onto Donovan's face. "And if you think I would have left my team behind to wallow in self pity, you couldn't be further from the truth."

The General smiled in return. "If only Mrs. Xiao Long had had the same attitude. I leave you to your subordinates, Major. If I may offer advice, head to the range when you're discharged. There's some powerful technology in that eye of yours." She walked out of the room, the clacking of heels echoing away from Donovan now. Donovan closed his eyes, resting for what felt like minutes on end until he heard familiar voices chattering away coming towards him. He opened his eyes just in time to see his team walk into the room, all three looking at him as they strode up to him. Jay practically sprinted when she saw her leader, kneeling down and gently hugging him, trying her best not to agitate any lingering wounds.

"Donovan!" she said loudly. "We were getting so worried!"

"Yeah," Jahim said, "you gave us quite a scare."

"I'm just glad all of you are alright," Donovan said, returning Jay's hug. "How long have I been out?"

"About 8 days, give or take a few hours," Alice said, pulling over a chair to sit down and examine his arm. She took the metal hand in her own, looking over the surface. "This is definitely not a permanent replacement. Oolong wouldn't whip something like that up in a single day. This'll keep you going for a long while though. What else they replace?"

"Most of my left side, and my heart as well." Donovan snickered. "Heh, I'm halfway to being you at this point. I don't even have a pulse anymore."

"No shit?" Jay asked, before reaching a hand up to Donovan's neck, and feeling the lack of a steady beat. She shuddered at the feeling. " _Fuck,_ I feel that way too often already. Gah, it skeeves me out so bad."

The group laughed, before Jahim's gaze fell on the new, synthetic eye. "So," he said, "What's the new eye like?"

"I haven't noticed anything different, though the General has said there's some highly advanced tech in it."

"Unsurprising," Alice said. "Optic augments are the current cutting edge. It probably all came standard in the augment. Things like Infra-Red, Thermal, and automatic target acquisition. With something as powerful as a sniper rifle like the one you have, that sounds powerful."

"Indeed it does," Donovan said, laying back down and closing his eyes. Jay and Alice stood up, and the group moved to leave.

"You need anything before we leave?" Jahim asked.

"Yeah," Donovan said. "Bring me our next mission."


	35. Surround and Conquer

The airship carrying EPSILON touched down early in the morning back at the base, the team having slept on the way there, as was becoming routine. They waved at the door operators, who in turn saluted and opened the door. Soldiers standing around them as they entered also snapped to attention, which Donovan quickly waved to ease, as was becoming habit. Sure, he outranked them all, and unquestionably outperformed them on the battlefield, but it still rubbed him the wrong way to be getting treated as such.

Following their first mission and Donovan's full recovery, knowledge of EPSILON team was made public, and the result was a large morale boost, knowing a tool as powerful as the goliath Nevermore, that Donovan had named Tobias, was on their side energized the soldiers. Between the boost in morale, and more and more successful operations from EPSILON themselves, territory was quickly falling into the hands of the Schnee Revolutionary Force. The army had quickly surrounded the capital, with Atlesian forces being unable to hold with key figureheads or weapon stockades seemingly dropping like flies to the ghost force of EPSILON. Even if they were to leave the front now, and leave the last fight to the others, EPSILON still would be heralded as war heroes at the resolution of the conflict, which seemed to be growing more and more apparent as time grew onward. Donovan and his team had much to be proud of over the past two months.

 _Why do I feel so empty then?_ Donovan thought as he sat on his bunk, setting his bag down in front of him and pulling his hood and scarf off. His team all followed him in, following suit, again in their standard routine. Jay and Alice sat next to each other, hands rested upon one another, the smaller woman nestling into the larger one as they rested. Jahim quickly shed most of his outer uniform and made his way to the showers. Donovan sighed, looking toward the ceiling.

"Something on your mind, Donovan?" Jay asked, prompting him to look back down and meet her inquisitive gaze.

"I'm just thinking about home again," he admitted with another sigh.

"You've been doing that a lot lately," Alice said. "What's hanging you up on it?"

"I'm just…" Donovan felt the words hang in his throat, trying his best to force them out. ""I'm worried about _us_. About what's happened to us out here."

"I get you," Jay said. "I mean, we've missed almost the entire semester at this point."

"Well, half of the instructors came with us," Alice said. "I wonder how the school's functioning at all right now."

"That wasn't what I was referring to," Donovan said. "What are we? Students? Huntsmen? Soldiers?" He sighed, looking at the floor now. "I was very optimistic, almost joyful even, after that first mission, even the first few. But it's become… _routine._ Killing is routine, even _habit_ to us now. Are we… can we even _go_ back anymore?" He looked to his scroll, and at hiscroll, and at his one, precious photo of all of them together, of Amber's rare smile. "I'm… I'm being paranoid. Forgive me."

Jay joined Donovan in his sighing, before giving a small chuckle. "Y'know, I really do forget this is you guys' first time in a job like this. I mean, aren't Huntsmen and Huntresses just what we are right now? Glorified mercenaries, regulated by an organization and sent to fight the good fight more often than not, but still just soldiers of fortune. Is that not what we are? Legitimized mercenaries fighting for what we think is right?"

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Alice said, "but the Hunt _is_ more than that, to me at least. They're symbols. They represent the best of us, going forth to make the rest of us safe. I looked up to the stories I heard when I was a kid." She paused. "Is what we're doing here really reflective of that? Destabilizing a nation under the pretense of replacing the government with one we like more?"

Jay scoffed. "Anything that makes this place not a hotbed for racism is fine by me. I'll kill a thousand more soldiers if it means me, Donovan, Professor Wukong, and every other faunus can walk in an Atlesian street without being beaten and jailed for not being _human_."

"Yeah," Alice said, a worried expression emerging on her face, "but in this case, do the ends truly justify the means? Everything we've done…"

Suddenly, the overhead speaker system came to life. _Attention all troops; report to the briefing hall. The hour of the final assault is at hand._

Donovan sighed. "I think it's too late to worry about that anymore," he said, before getting up and pounding on the bathroom door, to tell Jahim to get ready again.

The plan was almost comically simple, and Donovan honestly wondered if it was only this way due to how dominant the war effort had been. He couldn't help but chuckle out of the absurdity of it.

The Atlesian capital of Atlas was a circular city, organized a large, connecting outerbelt freeway and several long, straight roads leading into the center of town, where the capital building laid. The remaining loyalists are few, and at this point are very likely planning a retreat during the madness of the final invasion. In regards to this, the plan is to divide the Revolutionary Force along all of the road out of the town, and to charge into the capital. Unless they equally divide and meet each force, some _will_ reach the capital building. From there, they're just one figurehead assassination away from a won war, and a recaptured Atlas.

Donovan stood outside the small, pop-up base near the road his squadron had been assigned. EPSILON had been split up, with the intent to rendezvous at the capital building, or use their overwhelming strength to meet resistance head on. Donovan was with Jahim, and the two stood ready to engage at a moment's notice. The giant Nevermore circled overhead, the Force under strict orders not to shoot it. Donovan's portable tech lit up, and it was clear that it was now time to move. The rest of the squad grouped up, around 100 strong, and began marching forward towards the capital building. After a solid hour of walking, it was still eerily quiet. Donovan merely assumed that the loyalists had either already left, or simply ignored this street, as the plan had predicted.

It was another hour before the explosions started.

A noise like a faucet unfurled roared, before a surface-to-surface missile exploded just in front of them, knocking the soldiers in front back. Another landed right where the company had been just after the group scattered to alleyways and abandoned buildings for cover. Donovan peered around a corner, and used is augmented eye to magnify his vision. He saw numerous mechs surrounding the capital building, most equipped with the missiles he now noticed were heading down _every_ street. They had seen their plan coming a mile away, and used this tech to answer it. Donovan turned on his comm, but quickly shut it back off, as it was an incomprehensible cluster of chatter that no information could reliably make it through. He looked back at the mechs, and noticed the ones without missile equipment had begun marching forward, straight towards both them, and everyone else.

Things were not going according to plan.


	36. Break Through

Jay pressed a button on the side of her helmet ass she soared through the air, her full suit enveloping her. Alice's voice crackled through the speakers as Jay manipulated the air dust store in her pack to divert as many of the missiles coming from the Paladins in the center of the city as she could from the street and into the abandoned buildings to the sides.

 _"Jay, what's going on out there?"_ Alice asked from her cover inside a building.

"I'm trying my best to keep the missiles from hitting us," Jay replied, sending another volley away from the street. "Just stay put, alright? The volleys are thinning, I think they're gonna switch to a ground assault soon."

 _"Okay. Tell me when it's safe."_

"I will. I love you, Alice."

Sure enough, after around a half hour of missile volleys, the attack seemed to cease just as the first Paladins clanked onto the scene. Jay looked at them, noting the bulky frame and inefficient limbs. They were obviously prewar models, nearly 25 years old at this point. In a traditional war, they would be child's play to answer. However, in this war of attrition, the Revolutionary Force's troops lack the proper equipment to deal with them. When they reached the line of troops standing in the street, the troops' gunfire bounced harmlessly off their armour plating as the Paladins swatted them away, and dealt blows with lethal force to them. Jay tucked in her wings, entering a freefall. She landed hard on top of one of the Paladins, denting the steel roof. She punched the metal to dent and weaken it, before splitting it and prying the roof open, plucking the pilot from the controls. She pulled a grenade from the loyalist soldier's belt, dropped it into the mech, and threw the troop back inside before leaping off, the troop's scream cut off by a dulled explosion as the Paladin fell over from the force of the internal blast. She ran to another, pressing the radio button on her helmet to connect to the rest of her team as she punched out the leg servos of the Paladin in front of her.

"Alice, time to get out here. Armour piercing rounds, the steel is thick. Donovan, Jahim, status?"

Jay heard grunting from the comm, knowing it to be Donovan. _"We're locked down. The armour's too thick for any of us to do anything. I can punch out the legs with my left arm if I'm close enough, but otherwise we're waiting on Tobias."_

"Roger. I'm having more success over here. Keep in touch."

Jay snapped her head to the side as several rapid gunshots rang out, rapidly denting and penetrating the center of mass of a Paladin, causing it to collapse as its operator died. Jay turned the other way to see Alice, holding two smoking handcannons, quickly reloading both before snapping to another target. Jay turned to destroy what remained of the Paladin at her feet, before taking to the air again. She saw that their street was being overwhelmed by the Paladins, with really only her and Alice able to properly deal with the foes. She withdrew her scroll, pressing a few buttons before landing near Alice, punching through a Paladin's pelvis as she did.

"We're being overrun," Jay said. "I've called in Plan B."

"Plan B?" Alice asked as she gunned through another mech. As she finished the question, Jay's locker soared from the horizon, handing on and crushing a Paladin in front of the pair. The paneling fell away, to reveal a compacted black mech, which quickly expanded into a much larger suit. Jay ran up to it, entering it as the front opened up to receive her. As she entered, the armour closed around her, rising to it's full nine feet of height. A birdlike helmet formed over her head, the eyes glowing a bright purple. Jay spoke, her voice being played through a speaker as she punched straight through a Paladin's cockpit, the troop inside tumbling from the newly created hole.

"Plan B." Jay said, before smashing the cockpit area of another Paladin. "I'm gonna clear a path. C'mon!"

Alice followed, shooting through the stray Paladin that managed to avoid Jay's onslaught. Her new mechsuit was overwhelmingly powerful, cutting easily through Paladins as they advanced forward. The pair carved their way through what must have been more than a couple dozen of the mechs before one suddenly caught Jay's blow. She countered with a blow to the cockpit, but the strike only barely dented the metal, as opposed to crushing it. Alice noticed, firing upon the Paladin to her left, but her bullets did nothing to the steel plates as the Paladin struck her abdomen, sending her flying into a nearby building. Jay's helmet turned to her.

"Alice!" she cried out, before having to block a strike from another mech. "Dammit! They thought this through! They sent in the shitty models early to lull us into a false sense of confidence. Are you okay?"

Alice shifted the rubble she landed in aside, in time to see the Paladin advancing on her position. She raised her left hand, only for the Paladin to slam it's right arm down into it, crushing the limb. As the mech reared back it's other arm, Alice drew A Huntress Named… and pointed it at the cockpit of the mech, pulling the trigger. The shot roared louder than anything she'd ever heard, and tore a hole in the Paladin the size of a manhole cover. The shot continued all the way through before exploding in a plume of fire as it collided with a building across the street. The mech collapsed onto itself, further pinning Alice down. She tried desperately to jerk her limb free as another Paladin neared. Just as it's punch was about to collide with her, the fist suddenly stopped moving. The limb shook gently, as if it were being held back. Suddenly, a familiar voice cut the air, as the rest of the Paladins also ceased moving.

"Are you all okay?"

Jay turned to the voice, to see Headmaster and Colonel Arc walking towards them, holding his sheathed sword in his left hand. He continued to speak, as he reached down to unhook Alice's crushed augment, so the girl could stand up.

"Anything other than the arm damaged?" Alice shook her head. "Good."

"Headmaster…" Alice asked shakily, "how are you doing this?"

Jaune merely chuckled. "Well, it looks like you two get to see my semblance after all." He closed his eyes, and drew his sword from it's scabbard. As he did, the blade began to glow bright yellow, and the scabbard expanded into a large shield. Suddenly, a yellow figure appeared behind him. Jay recognized the figure as Taiyang Xiao Long, the grandfather of Amber and Porfirio,]. Next to him, another figure appeared, this one Jay recognizing as Glynda Goodwitch, the previous headmistress. Rapidly, more and more figures appears, many Jay recognized, like Sage Ayana, Fox Alistair, James Ironwood, and Qrow Branwen, and there were legions more that she didn't recognize, a veritable sea of figures that stretched as far as she could see. Lastly, in front of Jaune, materialized a figure Jay and Alice both recognized, as they walked past it every day. Standing there, holding her arm out in front of her, was Pyrrha Nikos.

"H-how.." Jay stammered. "Everyone here is dead…"

"Heh," Jaune chuckled. "Nobody's dead until they're forgotten." He stood up, slashing his sword once before sheathing it. The Paladin standing over Alice fell to several thousand pieces. "And I've got a pretty good memory." He turned to Jay. "Move toward to capital. I'll deal with the soldiers." Jay nodded, before running forward. Jaune turned to Alice. "You, stay put." Alice began to protest, but Jaune raised his hand. "You're down a limb. You'll do nothing but get in the way in your current state. For your own sake, please stay here. I'll be back for you." Alice solemnly nodded, watching the Headmaster turn to the other Paladins, and walk towards them, preparing to deal death.


	37. Draped in White

The sudden appearance of the flood of golden warriors caught Donovan by surprise, and put him even more on guard. However, the sudden chatter over the comms turned his worry away.

 _It's Arc!_

 _The Golden General's here!_

 _We're saved! The Heroes are with us!_

Donovan found himself smiling as the soldiers around him joined the gold images in fighting the Paladins, their newfound morale making them far more effective against the mechs than previous. He combined his spears into their dual-headed configuration, and in combination with his metal arm, began knocking the legs out of any Paladin he could reach. He had reached his fourth Paladin when he noticed a Glyph appear beneath it. Reflexively jumping back, he watched as Glyphs of identical design appeared beneath every Paladin in sight. Suddenly, pointed columns of ice shot from the Glyphs, goring each of the mechs and hoisting them several stories into the air. Some still fruitlessly twitched their limbs, while others hung limp, red spattered on the end of the column. Donovan turned his shocked gaze from the spectacle to behind him, to meet the irregular, three-beat footsteps he heard approaching. From behind them, Weiss Rose parted the sea of golden soldiers, propped on her cane, and a look of exasperation on her face.

"Honestly, that old man is just showing off now," Weiss said, stopping right next to Donovan. "He could have used Pyrrha's ghost to level the entire city, let alone these antiques. Though, I do suppose there is merit in spectacle for a revolutionary effort. Working with Ruby's accustomed me to that much." She turned to Donovan. "Come on, we've got to get to the capital building. Merletta's on her way there. We should use this clearing to move in." Donovan nodded, and Weiss turned to Jahim and the other troops. "The Major and I are going to press forward towards the enemy's stronghold. This street is clear, so fan out and assist other squadrons and collapse on the capital. Move!"

The chorus of soldiers voiced their recognition of the plan, and Jahim caught Donovan's eye as he marched off, both nodding in the knowledge that they'd be fine. Weiss returned her gaze to Donovan. "Let's get moving," she said, moving onward, Donovan slowing his usual gait to match the shorter woman's. Despite knowing better than to stare, he still felt his eyes linger on her metal prosthetic, the artificial leg still not quite accustomed to Weiss's movements, mandating her use of her cane. Weiss noticed him staring, and only smiled at him. "You're curious how it happened, aren't you?"

"Yeah, yeah I am," Donovan admitted. "Nero said you were disabled, he just never clarified how."

"Well, he is Ruby's son, after all." Weiss chuckled. "The girl couldn't finish a story if the ending was set in a cookie-themed paradise." She sighed, smiling. "There's so much of her in that boy. He especially now, he reminds me so much of the old days." She suddenly cleared her throat. "Though, you asked a question, and I'll answer it for you, if only to give us _something_ to do on this long walk to the capital."

"So, you've finally cornered me. You're tenacious little pups, aren't you? Though, 5 versus 1 hardly seems fair."

Adam Taurus stood in a large warehouse, full of boxes and crates, and was surrounded on all sides by Ruby, Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Weiss. He grinned, staring right at Ruby.

"Where is Blake? You're all friends with her," he said, venom prominent in his words. "I would expect you to take care of your own better than that."

"Shut up." Jaune said, staring daggers at Adam. "We all know what you did. Vale is still a mess, thanks to you."

"To me? I merely attacked for a single night. My organization pulled out as soon as that dreadful woman went missing. No, those Dragons are what's got Vale in that state, and kept it there." Adam chuckled, still looking at Ruby. "And who do we have to thank for that?"

"You're stalling." Weiss said, her voice calm, yet filled with anger. "Surrender, and face your death with some dignity."

"Surrender? Now why would I do that?" He snapped his fingers, and the sides of crates surrounding him were kicked out, and numerous White Fang troops ran out, shooting at the Hunters surrounding them. They scattered, and Jaune turned to Ruby. "Ruby! You and Weiss handle Adam! We've got these goons!"

Ruby nodded, her attention returned to Adam, who was easily parrying Weiss's handful of blows. She fired a shot from Crescent Rose, propelling herself forward towards the two. Weiss used a glyph to launch herself upward, and out of the way. Adam, turned, and bracing his blade on his free hand, blocked the impact, his hair glowing faintly. Ruby used her momentum to swing around Adam, spinning in the air, and bringing her blade down onto him. This strike was again blocked, his hair glowing again. Ruby hopped back onto a high platform, and retracted her scythe into gun forme, firing suppressive fire as Adam parried while shooting at Weiss to keep her from advancing. Ruby continued firing until she heard a haunting _click,_ as her repeated attempts to fire yielded nothing in return. Adam smiled upon hearing the sound, and suddenly closed the distance on Weiss, avoiding or deflecting fire from her glyphs. He slashed and fired rapidly, and despite Weiss' best efforts at blocking, she was quickly overwhelmed and knocked to the ground. Adam moved to make the killing blow, when another shot rang out, narrowly missing him. It turned his attention back to Ruby, and made him once again split his focus. As he noticed Weiss begin to rise, he looked up, noticing a hanging crate over her. He grinned as he shot the supporting ropes, causing the box to fall. Weiss was barely able to react, but her attempt to roll to safety didn't get her far enough. The crate landed on nearly the entirety of her right leg, a sickening _crunch_ being heard as the box settled. Weiss screamed, resting on her back as she attempted to think _anything_ through the overwhelming pain. Ruby immediately flared in anger, using her semblance to begin to dash at Adam as he sheathed his blade. Ruby begun transforming her scythe right as Adam dropped into a low stance, preparing to draw his blade, and beginning to grin devilishly. She read the scenario and barely managed to raise her half transformed weapon in time to attempt to stop Adam from unleashing his semblance-charged blow. The strike glanced off of Crescent Rose as it destroyed the weapon, and the tip of the blade surged across her abdomen, leaving an enormous gash on her stomach that begun to bleed heavily. She landed hard, and clutched a hand to her midsection to try to stop the flow of blood as she looked at Adam. He had begun walking back to Weiss, the trapped girl unable to do anything but scream. Just as he raised his blade, and Ruby had begun to scream with her, a shot rang out and hit Adam in the back, knocking him over. Ruby turned to the doorway, and standing in it, was the leader of the Dragons herself, Stardust, along with her right hand woman, both clad in their masks. The barrel on one of Stardust's gauntlets smoked as she lowered her arm and began walking forward. She stopped by Ruby, before removing her jacket, and using a blade from the fractured Crescent Rose, cut one of the sleeves into a long strip that she tied tightly around Ruby's giant wound.

"Keep pressure on it, this'll only help it. The gash isn't all that deep, so just stem the bloodflow." Stardust said, before turning her attention to Adam. Her companion began walking forward, but she stuck her mechanical arm out, stopping her.

"No, this fuck's mine. I still owe him one for this." She said, waggling her arm.

"But-" the other woman began to protest.

"Nope! Go help the others mop up the fodder. He's mine, Blake."

"Blake?" Adam said, turing his gaze to the two. "You're the head of the Dragons! How do you know Blake?"

The women removed their masks, revealing a quite angry looking Blake, and an even angrier looking Yang.

"What?" Adam asked, shocked by the reveal.

'Surprise, asshole. We're back." Yang said.

"Y-Yang… you're here…" Ruby whimpered.

"Yep." Yang said, her tone and face unflinching. "I lied to you. Sorry about that, Rubes, but what kinda big sister lets her baby sister fight all the battles by herself?" She returned her gaze to Adam. "I know how you work now. And now that you've blown your big flashy slash on failing to kill my sister, you've got nothing to deal with me." She opened the fingers on her prosthetic, the arm's signature lightning arcing between the metal fingers. Adam's face twisted in disgust.

"You huntresses don't know when to stay down. I'll have no qualms with cutting you down again, and again, and _again_ , until you finally understand."

"Sorry shithead," Yang said, beginning to walk towards him. Adam shouted angrily as he swung his blade at Yang, who caught it in between two fingers on her metal arm. "I don't know what you're trying to make me understand, but it's probably a load of shit anyway." She tore the sword out of his hand, throwing it aside. "I've got a mob to run, I've got people to protect, and I've got people like you to snuff out. So I'm a little low on time to 'understand' any of the shit you're trying to spit at me. Here's what you need to understand." Yang punched Adam in the throat, sending him stumbling backward, gasping for air as he fell. "This place is where you die. You'll lie here, forgotten, until someone bored enough decides that the stench has gotten bad enough."

Adam got to his feet, still clutching his scabbard with everything he had left. He changed it to it's rifle configuration and pointed it at the still kneeling Ruby, who looked up in fear. "Don't move!"

"That's about what I expected." Yang deadpanned. "That saying about the cornered rat or something."

"This isn't over, this never _will_ be over!" Adam shouted. "I'm walking out of here, right now, or your little silver-eyed warrior gets another hole put in her head." Yang tensed, but was confused at the sudden scent of burning flesh. Her gaze wandered to behind Adam, and her resolve softened. She stretched her hand out without thinking, before her eyes shot open wide at her mistake. Adam grinned, but found there was no sensation as he attempted to pull the trigger. He looked to the firearm, and found it lying on the floor, along with the rest of his arm. He turned, to find a giant blade in the hand of an armoured limb, emerging from a glyph manifested in the air. He turned further, to see Weiss Schnee, propped on her sword, having amputated her leg and burned the wound shut with fire Dust. Wordlessly, Adam turned in time to see Yang surging forward, the same limb he had cut off poised to strike him. Yang's fist collided with his chest, and with a crack of lightning, his entire torso violently exploded, scattering pieces of gore across the warehous. Weiss saw that the battle was over, closed her eyes, and collapsed as Ruby ran toward her. She swore she heard someone yelling her name.

"After that, I woke up in a hospital, several days later. Everyone had been worried sick," Weiss concluded with a sigh. "Though, everything had to be reconstructed for me. I barely remember it, I lost so much blood."

Donovan gave a mortified chuckle. "Man, I can't imagine Ruby was pleased with you."

Weiss gave a hearty laugh. "It's one of the only three times I've ever seen her genuinely angry at anything not trying to kill her. Once when Nero beat a kid up at school when he was young, once at me, and once at Yang when she killed Cinder Fall."

"Ruby was mad over that? Wasn't she the one who killed Ms. Nikos?"

Weiss nodded. "Ruby didn't like killing people, no matter what. The only reason she wasn't mad about Adam was because of how much she was mad at me, she kind of forgot to. She's too sweet for her own good, y'know? She gave up working for over a year when we had Nero, and when we had Echo, it took over a month of convincing for her to let me carry the baby." Weiss sighed. "I can't wait to go home, to get back to her. She's probably worried sick."

"Me either," Donovan said, thinking back to the photo on his scroll.

The two reached the door to the capital building, where Jay was firing at Paladins from a distance with her suit's cannons. When she spied the other two, she exited the larger suit, remaining in just her standard armour.

"Are you two okay?" Jay asked the two as they approached. "Where's Jahim?"

"We're all fine, he's leading the charge to clean out the rest of the Paladins." Donovan said.

"It looks like it'll be just us from here on out," Weiss said. "Be prepared."

Both nodded, and readied themselves. On Weiss' signal, Jay kicked the door down, and the three ran inside the building. The inside of the capital building was spacious, despite being a single room. It served as a half meeting hall, half throne room for the monarch that Schnee really was. At the end of the long room, the dictator's desk sat, the chair turned to face the wall. Weiss walked toward the desk, stopping halfway across the room.

" _Father!_ " she shouted at the desk, and in response, the giant, high back chair began to swivel around. In the chair, was Weiss' father, long dried blood coating his jacket, and insects beginning to crawl on his corpse. He had easily been dead for days, if not weeks. As Weiss let out a gasp, slow clapping began to resonate through the room. From behind the chair, walked a man of moderate height, clad in a long black coat, and a mask with red eyelenses. Horns poked out of his skull, and a slender, curved sword sat on his hip. His clawed fingers continued clapping as he strode in front of the desk. He spoke through a voice filter, the robotic voice filling the room as the clapping ceased.

"Man, I was beginning to worry all that talk of you war heroes was smoke and mirrors. It's good to see some of you have made it through the antiques I brought with me." He looked directly at Weiss, and chuckled. "And I love who showed up. Two thorns in my side, and daddy's little girl herself." Weiss tensed at the language, her anger showing. "Oh, did I strike a nerve? That's fine. I just find it ironic, is all. The person who showed up to pull this bastard out of power is just another Schnee. What a load of change. Even then, she had to get the littler Schnee to do the dirty work, huh?"

"I…" Weiss drew her sword, her face twisting into an angry grimace. She spawned a Glyph, surging toward him, tip aimed at his throat, " _am not a Schnee!_ "

As the tip would have hit his neck, the terrorist once again became intangible, sidestepping the attack before regaining his mass and encircling his hand around her throat.

"Ah, my apologies. I know what you are." He slammed her headfirst into the desk, her unconscious form crumpling to the ground. "An amateur."

"You bastard!" Jay angrily shouted. Donovan, however, was entranced towards the symbol on the terrorist's chest, his horns, the way he moved, everything. He lowered his weapons, speaking calmly and steadily.

"Cole… Cole I know that's you. Take off that damned mask."

"Cole?" Jay asked Donovan, more confused than ever. "You know him?"

The terrorist chuckled. "I was wondering when you'd be around. I knew it wouldn't last long." He undid the clasps on his mask, tossing it to the ground. Beneath it lied cold brown eyes, skin the same shade as Donovan's and three jagged scars of a clawed strike slashed across his face. "I'm glad though. Now, I can finally just kill you for knowing who I am, and not have to worry about any bullshit from the Lady. There's no beasts to save you this time, Donnie. I'll have your skin this time." His tone was manic now. Jay's eyes had gone wide, the face being too burned into her memory for her not to recognize. She turned to Donovan for answers, but he only raised his own weapon.

"We'll see about that, won't we, brother?"


	38. Pathfinder

"Blaine, wait for me!"

The young boy paid no heed to his older brother's voice behind him as he ran through the woods that stretched around his tribe's current settlement. The clearing the Stormbringers had settled in for this period was wide, and nested in the Forever Woods far closer to the river and Human trade caravans that they relied so heavily on. An added bonus was that the younger children in the tribe had plenty of fresh woodland to explore, and were close to the riverbed they so loved to play in.

Blaine and his brother were racing there, shirking their responsibilities as the sons of the Chieftain as usual. They were currently supposed to be meditating, hoping their semblance, as the humans called it, would awaken, and that one of them bore the power of the chieftains. Of course, neither could be bothered to deal with that. That stuff was _boring_. They'd both rather be exploring, and hoping that their semblance woke by itself. Blaine stopped to rest against a tree, catching his breath as his brother caught up with him, chuckling as he pat him on the back.

"I knew you'd tire yourself if you ran too long, Blaine."

"Come on Cole, we both know I'm faster than you," Blaine said, smiling up at his older brother. Despite only being 3 years older, Cole stood several inches over the ten year old, resting a hand softly on Blaine's shoulder.

"Do you want me to wait for you?"

"No, run ahead. I'll catch up with you."

Cole nodded, running into the woods and towards the river. Blaine closed his eyes to rest, only to have them snapped back open as the sound of metal crashing shut and his brother screaming in pain set his feet in motion before he even recognized what had happened. He sprinted in the same direction as the sound had come from, finding Cole crouched on his knee, clawing desperately at the steel-toothed maw that had snapped shut onto his right leg. Blaine recognized the device, a trap that humans used to make hunting easier, less dangerous. Blaine, along with most of the tribe, had found the traps barbaric and pathetic. Hunters and Trappers are two very different professions with very different mindsets. To call trapping hunting is an insult to both arts, and to the beasts themselves. Blaine crouched down to look at the trap, and see how he could undo it. He grimaced at the sight, the sharp teeth of the device having bore their way into his brother's leg. The limb was very clearly broken, and blood oozed from the wounds. Blaine put all his pressure on the button at the base to release the trap, but he was simply not strong enough to put enough pressure to allow the mouth to open. The two continued their grunting and shouts of pain, until the sound of crashing and snapping in the brush near them hushed them both. A large Ursa parted the foliage in front of them, the sound of their attempts to free Cole apparently drawing the beast to them. Blaine began to panic at the sight of the beast, beginning to desperately jerk at the jaws of the trap to free Cole, accomplishing little but drawing more yelps from the older boy, securing the attention of the Ursa. The beast growled as it walked closer to the pair, it's footfalls crunching on fallen twigs and leaves as it neared its next meal. Blaine, in fear, outstretched his hands, his palms face outward, in an attempt to intimidate the monster like he saw the older hunters do. He closed his eyes, waiting for the agony of a fang or claw to rake his hands. Instead, he hesitantly opened his eyes when he felt a faint pressure against his left palm. The Ursa had pressed its mask-like face against his palm, almost like a smaller, domesticated animal. When it pulled away, the normally red markings on its face were a deep brown, and its eyes the same shade. The beast raised a paw, and Blaine flinched in fear. The beast brought its large appendage down onto the switch Blaine had been trying to depress, causing the trap's jaws to clatter open. The Ursa then turned and walked back into the woods, Cole and Blaine stared wide eyed at the gap in the foliage, until Blaine turned to his brother, helping him to his feet. He braced the older boy onto his shoulder, keeping the broken leg in the air.

"Are you good to move?" Blaine asked, worry clearly present in his voice.

"We need to get you home," Cole said, in between breaths. "Right now."

The flap that acted as the door to the large, collapsable building that the tribe Chieftain resided in fluttered and came to a rest as the young hunter entered. Upon his entry, the solemn face of the Chieftain softened slightly, a smile creeping at the edges of his mouth. The man was elderly, easily nearing his sixties, sat upon a weaved cushion in front of a small fire. He was clad in the same sacred leathers that the hunter that had entered wore, the rare material being reserved for Chieftains or ones to be. The elder man began to speak, the hunter having stopped in front of the fire.

"Hello, my son," he said, his tone almost gleeful. "How has your training with Cole been, Donovan?"

"It has gone well," Donovan said, taking a seat at the fire and closing his eyes. It had been 4 years since the incident with Cole in the woods, where his semblance awoke, and he had discovered he bore the power of the Chieftains, the ability to tame the beasts. As was tradition, his past name was struck out, and he was given the new, ceremonial name of Donovan, the name of all Chieftains of the Stormbringer clan in the past, present, and future. Donovan bore his new name with pride, and took great pleasure in honing his abilities. "Cole's swordsmanship remains troublesome for me to defeat. The man's gifted."

"The boy is talented, if a bit reckless. His style is a natural counterpart to yours, Donovan. Take pride in that you can fight as well as you can against someone so suited to defeat you." The Chieftain chuckled. "Now, I'm sure you are very busy. What makes you take time from your day to see me?"

"I wished to discuss events that happened earlier today, at the meeting with the Human caravan during the hunt."

"Ah yes, the Humans." The Chieftain said, his expression souring somewhat. "I assume that you would not be bringing it to my attention had it gone well."

"Indeed," Donovan said, sighing. "The exchanges went as planned, nothing out of the ordinary. I had gone alone with our usual offerings, plus some more I had found that day, and they unloaded the standard package of metal, bullets, and supplies. However, a beast emerged from the woods while the exchange was being made. I was forced to pacify the beast and kill it. The Humans were amazed, it was clear they had never seen our skill before."

The Chieftain laughed at the tale. "That's my son! My pride swells, knowing you use your gift for deeds such as that, even if it was to protect the Humans."

Donovan laughed with him, albeit far less enthusiastically, before continuing. "They offered to give their offering for free, in exchange for saving their lives, but I refused, wishing not to inconvenience those who had come so far. I only requested from them an explanation of their wonder in return."

"Interesting," the Chieftain said. "What did they speak of?"

"They spoke of their home, a far off place called 'Vale'. They spoke of the giant buildings, and of the enormous walls surrounding the place to keep it safe. There are thousands of people there, both Humans and people like us, which the Humans call Faunus. They said that the beasts attack their place very frequently, that they are attracted to negative emotion such as fear or sadness. To them, the beasts are life threatening, an ever constant threat. To see one person reduce one to a non-threatening creature was incredible to them."

"Very interesting indeed. It would appear that the Humans do not have any powers like ours in their society."

"But… what if they did?"

"What?" the Chieftain asked.

"What if we traveled to this Vale? What if we helped the humans? We could bring them the peace we've known for so long."

"Why should we?"

Donovan looked at his father's face. It was one of absolute contempt. "Why should we 'bring peace' to a race that has held nothing but disregard for our people for so long?" He scoffed, before continuing. "I have heard tales of these Humans. They waged war on our kind, the beastpeople, long ago. They claim to have settled differences, but it is clear they hold us in an inferior regard. We're stronger than them. We have our horns. They are lesser than _us_. They deserve nothing more."

"Does that not seem selfish to you?" Donovan's words cause his father's attention to snap to him. "We hold something that could solve their greatest plight. Is it not somewhat a _responsibility_ of us to help them, not as Humans, but as _people_?"

The Chieftain sighed. "You will understand when you are older, child. Humans care little for us. A future Chieftain should take that to heart. You are dismissed from my chamber, child."

Donovan rose from his position, wordlessly walking from the chamber. His hands balled to fists as he walked out, his anger beginning to rise. He refused to accept his father's bone-headed rhetoric. He aggressively parted the cloth flap of his own hut, Cole residing inside already. The older brother took one look at Donovan, and could tell his mood.

"Something's troubling you," Cole said matter-of-factly.

Donovan sighed before crashing onto his bed, staring at the roof of their dwelling, and the beautiful starscape painted on it. "I…" He paused, wondering the opinion of his brother. Cole was a follower of the ways of the tribe like no other, becoming more devout than anyone else in the tribe to their father's teaching, especially after Donovan had been declared heir apparent. He chose his words carefully. "If you know that something is the right thing to do, even if it goes against everything you've been taught, against your _destiny_ , would you still do it?"

Cole chuckled. "Fate and destiny are absolutes, but fate isn't always apparent. I say see where the road of your actions takes you, right or wrong. Teachings exist for a reason, but nothing is taught forever. The world has a nasty habit of changing right when you think you've got everything figured out."

Donovan didn't reply to his brother's words. He merely pondered them as the sun set, and the night rose.

It was another year, to the very day, Donovan had made sure of, before he took action. He stood upon a hill overlooking his tribe's village, the moonlight faintly illuminating the various huts and buildings of his people. His smiled faintly, looking at his own hut, the place he had called home for so long. He had made sure to wait until he heard his brother snoring, quickly gathering his things, and his spears, before leaving a short note. He had made up his mind; he was going to make his way to Vale, and offer his skill to them. He would be making a difference, at least he hoped he would be.

The trip wasn't without sacrifices. He definitely could never return, with the entire tribe so against his ideas. He had even gone as far as to 'steal' enough food to last him a full week of travel; hopefully by then, he could find a settlement, and use what little of value he had packed to trade his way into the city. It wasn't the soundest plan, but it's not like Donovan wasn't a hunter himself. He would make it work, and it was certainly better than the stagnant life he lead, he wagered. He turned to the woods, and walked a few steps into the foliage. A large beast waited behind the brush, it's marking's Donovan's shade of brown. It had been waiting for him. It, no, _she_ , would be his companion on this trip. He met the beast's nuzzling with his hand, before being interrupted by a voice he had hoped not to hear.

'Donovan, what are you doing?"

Donovan gave his brother a beat to gather for himself, before sighing and turning around. His brother was clad in his sleepwear, but his sword was tied at his hip. His hand held a crumpled piece of cloth, one Donovan spied his own scrawled handwriting on. He looked his brother in the eye, addressing him calmly.

"I'm doing what you told me to do a year ago. I'm following my own actions, and doing what I believe in."

"You're… you're abandoning us? For the _humans_?" The pain in his brother's voice was agony to Donovan. "You're throwing away generations of pride, of tradition, for what? A feeling? An idea?"

"You said it yourself. Sometimes tradition has to change."

"That doesn't mean it should be disregarded! You're the heir! The Chieftain, father, he's far too old to have another child now. There's no way to keep the lineage in place! You're the only possible leader!"

"You will be fine in my place, Cole. You're smarter, and stronger. You're even far more versed in the traditions than I am."

"None of that matters! You've got the gift in your blood, not me! You're the beastmaster, the _last_ beastmaster left other than father! I'll never have it, nor will my heirs." Cole's face twisted, now looking angrier. "You're ending _everything_ over your own selfish goals."

"Cole, _please_ ," Donovan pleaded, finally letting emotion into his tone. "Don't let this tear us apart."

"What else are you trying to do? You're running away, choosing _humans_ over your own people. You're dooming the tribe because of a _thought_." He grunted angrily as he drew his sword, pointing the tip at Donovan. "I won't let you. If it means dragging you to the tribe with your tendons slashed, I will not let you run from your destiny."

"Don't do this, Cole. I don't want to fight you." Tears began to form in the pits of his eyes, clouding his vision.

"It's too late. You chose to have this battle when you chose _them_ over us. Over me!" He ran forward, shouting a proud war cry as he surged toward his brother. The beast in the foliage snapped to the charging hunter, and lept from the brush, landing on top of Cole. It's three claws raked across his face, leaving gashes that began to bleed. The beast continued to maul him, snarling as it slashed and tore at the boy. Cole screamed as Donovan looked on in horror. He was frozen in fear, knowing what he did right now would determine everything his fate held for him. He took a step back, before turning around and running as hard as he could. He ran until Cole's screams, both of pain and of his name, were distant noises. He fell to his knees, bracing himself on his hands, and to the distant sound of his brother's death, he cried.


	39. Wrapped in Black

Jay looked on, unable to break her gaze from Cole as his blade surged through the air and clashed against the head of Donovan's shortspear. Donovan thrust his longer spear forward, Cole grabbing the metal shaft just before it collided with his abdomen, both of them grimacing as they held off the other's attack. Cole Flattened his blade against the spearhead, and slashed it towards Donovan's left shoulder in an attempt to break his guard. The blade once again met metal, having effortlessly cleaved through the fabric of Donovan's uniform and collided with his metal prosthetic. Cole leapt backward, releasing his grip on the longspear as he avoided it surging forward.

"It looks like you lost more than your eye, Donnie," Cole said, pointing the tip of his blade at Donovan's exposed shoulder, the steel gleaming against the overhead lighting. "War not been kind to you?"

"Do _not_ call me that!" Donovan shouted.

Cole chuckled at the outburst. "Jeez, you people are so touchy with your names." He looked towards Jay, who's vision remained locked onto Cole. "At least those of you who are in the present are."

Jay knew the comment was directed at her, but wasn't really processing it. All she could do is stare at Cole, every thought in her head screaming at her to run. The man who had captured her, tortured her, scarred her, and nearly killed her was standing before her again. The man who had defeated her and killed hundreds at the comms tower was right there. The only person on Remnant she feared was her friend's brother. She wouldn't dare move, wouldn't dare do anything to risk aggression against him. Her mind raced, remembering the agony of the knife, remembering his haunting tone, and knowing that she couldn't beat him. Not here, not then, not ever. Her only option was to run, run and fly as fast and as far away as she could, but if she ran, she knew Donovan would die, that Weiss would die, and he would do whatever it is he came here to do. Maybe she could do it. Throw away everything and hide. Flee to Vacuo again, hide in that vast desert where Cole could never find her. She knew, deep down, that wasn't an option. She couldn't let them die, and she can't leave Alice behind, not while _he's_ here. She looked at the two of them, Cole's blade glancing off Donovan's blades as he deftly blocked Cole's flurry of strikes. She swallowed hard, her feet beginning to walk. _Maybe they could do it together_ , she thought. Her feet picked up into a run. She lept up, and Cole turned his head just in time to catch Jay's flying knee in the face. Jay landed, spinning on her heel and delivering a turnaround kick to the same place, knocking Cole several feet backward. Donovan was surprised, and turned to face Jay, who was panting as she lowered her leg to the ground and assumed her combat stance.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his face twisting into one of concern.

Jay didn't break her gaze from Cole, who was getting up. "I'll be honest, I'm scared out of my mind. He's the one who gave me the scars."

"Which ones?" Donovan asked, knowing Jay's jagged landscape of skin.

"Almost every single one." Jay said, as Cole finished getting up, his small grin no longer present as he slid his blade back into the scabbard on his back. Donovan noticed Jay's hand begin to shake softly. "He's crazy dangerous," She said. "We need to face him together, or all three of us are going to die. Really, that might happen anyway."

Donovan nodded. "Focus on overwhelming him at close range." He connected his spears into their sniper rifle configuration, taking the gun into his left hand. "I'll apply pressure from range and try to trip him up."

"That's a tad stronger than my plan of 'distract him, grab Weiss, then run like fuck,' so yeah, let's roll with that."

Cole dusted himself off, looking towards the pair. "I was hoping to kill Donnie before you snapped out of it, but now it looks like I'll have to start taking this seriously." He tensed the fingers in his left hand into a claw-like formation, before appearing to tear at the air in front of him. Donovan and Jay were shocked to see the air _did_ seem to tear, with a jagged, black hole appearing as he raked his hand across the nothingness.

"What is he doing?" Donovan asked.

"I don't know. He beat me both other times before ever doing this." Jay said, her voice holding back her fear.

Cole wound back, and delivered what appeared to be a full-force blow into the newly formed 'tear'. Instead of hitting it, it seemed to vanish into it, disappearing from sight. It suddenly appeared out of thin air, and struck Donovan's abdomen with a dull thud, Donovan doubling over from the force of a punch from a man 10 feet from them. He retracted his arm, before repeating with his left, this time striking the back of Donovan's right leg, knocking him onto one knee. A third strike into the tear impacted on Donovan's face, his nose audiably shattering as he fell onto his back.

"What… what is going on?" Jay asked, the shaking in her arms worsening.

"Reality, unwoven." Cole said, the humour gone from his tone of voice. "All avenues of attack, all possibilities of combat, all of them are open to me." Jay started towards him, leaping into the air, but was almost immediately grounded by a strike to her jaw. She struggled back to her feet, another blow hitting her shoulder, attempting to knock her off balance. "If only Donnie hadn't run his damned _mouth!_ " he shouted, clawing at the edge of the tear to widen it before reaching through it, and picking Donovan off the ground, and pulling him through it. "You always voiced what you were thinking, never stopping to think of ramifications. I'm sure you preached up and down to these sympathizers about your damned 'fate is bullshit' speech, huh?" Donovan merely grunted in response, his hands clawing at the hand around his neck. Cole noticed Jay again advancing, and tossed Donovan through the tear. He collided with Jay in his flight, the two skidding backward, slowly picking themselves from the ground. "You could have just kept quiet. Let me take the Schnee, and be on my way. I had no quarrel with you two nuisances, but no. You decide _now_ is the time to give a shit. You're a running riot of mistakes." Cole watched the two rise all the way back up, shakily holding their combat stances as they panted, exhaustion apparent on their faces. "I suppose it's time I ended it."

Donovan prepared to attack again, before hearing the telltale sound of pierced metal. He looked at Jay, and his eyes went wide at the sight. Jay was staring down, shock on her face, looking at the red sword buried to the hilt in her abdomen.

Cole smirked, and converted his scabbard to its rifle form, pointing it through the tear at Jay's head. "One down."

Jay snapped her vision back up, and grabbed the barrel of the gun that poked out of the aether in front of her, jerking it to the side as it fired. After the bullet passed harmlessly past her, Donovan's Rifle shot was already in the air, the surprised Cole not having enough time to react as the round flared against the aura on his chest. He released his grip on his gun and sword, both ending up with Jay as she fell to her knee. Donovan sprinted forward, leaping into the air to bring his spear down. When he landed, Cole was nowhere to be seen, black smoke emanating from where he once was. Donovan looked around, noticing not only that the tear was gone, but so was any trace of Cole. He then caught sight of Jay, and ran back to her as she stood up, her body shaking from the blade still lodged in it. He braced her on his metal arm, her sigh of relief signifying her gratitude.

"Can you walk?" Donovan asked, not bothering to mask his concern.

"The sword's lodged in my intestine, not my legs." She chuckled, before stopping at a coughing fit. "Grab Weiss and let's get out of here. I'll live long enough to get biotics."

Donovan nodded, before withdrawing his scroll and dialing command. "Command, this is Major Stormbringer. We're at the capital building, and we have heavily wounded. We need evac ASAP." There was a muttering of confirmation, and the line was cut. He sat Jay on the desk of the late Elder Schnee. "There's a medevac ship inbound. Save your energy until then." Jay nodded, her breath heavy but stable. "And don't pull that sword out, it's the lynchpin keeping you alive right now."

"This isn't my first impalement, Donovan. I know what to do." Jay muttered, before coughing again. Donovan let a worried look linger before turning his attention to Weiss. There was a sizable bruise forming on her head, but the skull was entirely intact, from what he could tell. Her breathing was also stable. It was a concussion at worst, thankfully. He propped her up against the desk, and patiently awaited their salvation.

When the airship landed, Jay was rushed directly into surgery. Thankfully, despite her comment, the blade had missed everything vital, all that was needed was some repairs to her muscle fibers. She would make a full recovery in a matter of days. Weiss had woken up on the flight, and was quite embarrassed at her outburst resulting in Jay and Donovan's injury, but was otherwise unharmed other than a concussion. Donovan thankfully only had the broken nose and some bruising, all of which were easy fixes.

With the Elder Schnee dead, Winter's force was successfully able to seize the government. It would be some time before actual change occoured, but Winter assured the Nikos party that change _would_ be happening. Jaune and Winter shook hands for the cameras that were suddenly everywhere. Word of the coup had broke, and suddenly the now-calm warscape was populated with reporters from every kingdom. Donovan and his team received particular focus, stories of the EPSILON squad's exploits, and the impressiveness of the Huntsmen-in-training fascinating the media, particularly Donovan and Jay's account of their fight against the terrifying radical, Cole. It wasn't longer than a week, however, before the Nikos party was on an airship, and set out on another overnight flight home, wishing Winter and her company the best in their efforts.

The first few hours of the plane ride were silent, everyone quietly reflecting on their actions during the war. It was after these hours of silence that Jay began to laugh. Alice, who had her one arm firmly wrapped around Jay's, gained a quizzical look on her face. "What's funny?" She asked.

"I just remembered, Donovan has to face Yang and Blake when we get home," Jay said through her giggles, "and they've had 3 months to prepare."

There was a pause, before the entire plane erupted into laughter. Even Oolong let out a synthetic chuckle, knowing of Yang's protective nature. Donovan felt some panic, but laughed along with the rest. _Maybe things can get back to normal soon_ , he thought, as the plane full of laughter soared over the ocean, towards home.


	40. Recovery

It was just a few minutes after noon when the airship touched down on the Nikos landing docks, where a handful of people stood in waiting. Ruby stood ready to pounce, having been without any way to contact her wife for several months, and having severe pent-up affection. Blake was behind her, holding Echo, to ensure the infant wasn't injured in Ruby's mad dash. Yang stood next to them, her arms folded, smiling that everyone was coming back alive. Lastly, team ASNL chatted away at each other, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their friends. Amber was noticeably quieter than the others, her eyes fixed on the doors of the airship as they lowered.

Jaune and Sun were the first to hop off, looking mostly the same as when they had left. War had been kind to the two of them, neither seeing any serious injury. The two then helped Weiss down, and handing her back her cane. Weiss managed to make it a few steps before she found herself enveloped in red. Ruby hugged her tightly, her eye closed and smiling wide.

" _Hiiiiii,_ " Ruby said, tightening her grip around Weiss.

Weiss sighed, but looked at her with a tired smile. "Hello, Ruby," she said, exhaustion apparent in her voice. She returned the hug, though with not as much of a vice grip as Ruby had. "It's so good to see you again."

"Mhm," Ruby hummed.

"Could you, erm, release me?" Weiss asked.

"Nope," Ruby said, snuggling into Weiss even tighter. "3 months with no calls, no messages, not even a carrier pigeon! Let me have this."

Weiss opened her mouth to reply, but simply closed it in a smile, once again reciprocating the hug.

Oolong lead team SAJJ off the platform, finally back in their old clothing. Wilt and Blush were strapped to Jay's back, and Donovan wore a glove on his left hand, though it couldn't mask the gleaming red of his prosthetic eye. The group quickly met up with ASNL, and rapid, unintelligible chatter commenced, Nero and Sienna having endless questions about what had happened. Porfirio walked up to Jay, handing her a small glass of dark liquid.

"I saw you hit your 18th while you were out there," Porfirio said. "I left a bottle of this in your fridge."

"Thanks, P," Jay said, downing the small drink and shaking her head. "Fuck, that's some good stuff. You said you gave me a whole bottle of this?"

Porfirio nodded. "It's an old Mistrali Liquor. Mom's bar is the only place to get it in Vale. Rumour has it it was originally supposed to be a remedy for an old king. An apothecary or some shit mixed a bunch of herbs and spices together and gave it to him, and the dude died."

Jay coughed, the liquor still affecting her. "Jeez, that'll peel the paint right off of the inside of you."

"Yeah, may wanna drink it in moderation." Porfirio said with a smile, eyeing Wilt and Blush. "Now, where did you get _that_?"

"Oh, yeah! I need to do something with this," She said, walking over to Yang and Blake. She took the sheathed weapon off her back, and held it out to them. "Look, I know this probably isn't the time, but I think this belongs to you two, after everything."

Blake and Yang looked at the sword, both of their minds racing through all the ill moments and memories they shared over it. Yang looked up at Jay, and shook her head. "Keep it."

"What?" Jay said, surprised at the refusal.

"I've seen enough of that sword for one lifetime, thanks." Yang said, shaking her head.

"What I think Yang is trying to say," Blake said, smiling in an attempt to dissuade Yang's rudeness, "is that we've got too much history with that weapon to be comfortable owning it. It brings up way too many bad memories."

"Let's just say you weren't it's first time, hon," Yang said, with a grin that quickly faded after Blake nudged her with her arm that wasn't currently holding an infant. "Okay, okay, I get it. That one was pretty awful." She turned back to Jay. "Plus, a weapon that powerful really shouldn't be sitting in a case or mounted to a wall, y'know? I think you can do something interesting with it, if your performance in my class is any indication.

Jay's confused frown morphed into a confident grin. "I won't waste this opportunity, ma'am."

"Please don't call me that, it makes me feel old." Yang said with a groan.

"Yang, honey, we _are_ old. Almost 43." Blake said.

"You're not helping!" Yang shouted, and Jay and Blake dissolved into laughter.

Donovan approached Amber, looking up at her. The two stood silently, looking at eachother for almost a minute, before Amber broke the silence.

"I heard you took down Knightmare," she said, her gaze fixed on Donovan's left eye.

"Jay and I beat him, yeah," Donovan replied, noticing her staring and starting to feel self conscious. "He got away though, so I'm unsure if that counts."

"Is he the one who…" She said, raising a hand to touch his face near his prosthetic eye.

"No, no, he didn't hurt me at all." He grabbed her hand, leaving it on her face. "I pushed myself too far is all. I knew my limits, and passed them. It had a price, and I paid it."

"Can I see your arm?" Donovan looked shocked at her request, as if he didn't know how she knew that. 'I, uh, I read the reports that went public. I heard about the… the prosthetic."

Donovan nodded, and took off his jacket. The metal of his left arm gleamed in the sunlight. Amber placed her hand on it, feeling the cool steel. "I'm sorry." Amber looked at Donovan's face, and found him looking at the floor. "I couldn't keep my promise."

Amber responded by hugging him as tight as she could. "It's okay, you're here. You're here and safe and _alive_. That's what matters."

Donovan thought of how to reply, but simply returned the embrace, softly crying into Amber's shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he muttered again.

"I just get to kick your ass later, as promised, right?"

Donovan managed to chuckle through his tears. "You and Yang both, I'd wager."

Amber laughed at the response. "C'mon, Ren's cooking a feast for you guys' return.

The group all moved into the school, grateful for the food and safety within.

"Are you almost done?" Alice said from her seat in the lounge portion of the forge. Jay sat tinkering at a workbench, while Alice drummed her one set of fingers on the leather of the couch.

"Hey, I'm not the most experienced in building these things, alright? That's Oolong's job." Jay said, tightening a bolt inside Alice's new prosthetic arm. "Speaking of, why isn't he doing this? It's kinda his thing, isn't it?"

"Oolong had months of work to review, all the instructors did," Alice replied, taking a drink of her hot chocolate. "Besides, you should learn how to put me back together."

"I'll be honest, babe, it's not a skill I want to have to know," Jay said, snapping a metal plate onto the framework. "Like, I love you and all, but seriously. Maintenance I can handle, but I really don't want having to… _repair_ my girlfriend to be a part of my usual forge duty." She dusted off her hands, and hefted her finished craft over to Alice. "On that note, hold still so I can slot this in."

Alice straightened her back, grimacing as the nerves connected and she regained control of her arm, She flexed the faux muscles and moved her fingers, and nodded in approval. "Feels good. Real good."

"I took the liberty of making the repair job an overhaul. Replaced the steel internals with new, lighter ones I hand forged back before we left. The alloy is titanium based, but blended with some other metals to make something lighter, while still as strong. I cut some daggers from the sheet as a test, and took the liberty of loading them into the mechanics." She walked over to Alice's other side. "If you want, I can take the other and do the same."

"That sounds great, go ahead." Alice winced again as Jay twisted off her outstretched, older limb, and walked back to the bench to keep working. "Hey, why _did_ you make fresh internals for my arms several months ago anyway? It's not like I was in need of repairs back then."

Jay was once again very thankful for Alice's semblance's inability to see colours, as her face erupted into red. "Well, I, uh, I made the alloy for the Raid Raptor, and I had a bunch left over, and I thought it'd be nice to have, uh, _backups!_ Yeah, backups. It never hurts to be prepared." Jay felt any possibility of that excuse working fade out along with the nervous laugh that followed it.

"Right," Alice said, a grin twisting its way onto her face. "And I suppose the knives that perfectly fit inside my mechanisms, that are clearly hand-ground from cut pieces were just testing the metal?"

"Hey, you already asked a question," Jay said, a smile accompanying her false accusatory tone. "Now I get one. That's how it works, right?"

Alice giggled at the response she'd garnered. "If that's the game you want to play, sure, shoot."

"Well," Jay began, still diligently working, "Why do you call Oolong by his name? Like, I know he's only got the one, but you see him as your dad right? Why not call him that?"

"That one's rather disinteresting, sorry to say," Alice said, spinning one of her new daggers around her fingers, and noting how much lighter it was. "Oolong doesn't like being called any of those paternal things. He says it feels strange to him, having someone older than him call him 'dad'. I can respect that."

"I guess that makes sense, though it is kinda weird you're older than your dad, and not in the silly leap-year kinda way." Jay grunted, a bolt being particularly stubborn to unscrew. "You have a question now?"

"Hmmm," Alice said, raising her hand to her chin. "Have you ever been with anyone else?"

Jay chuckled as she finally got the bolt loose. "Going straight for the jugular, huh?" She shook her head at Alice's snickering. "When I was younger, way before any of this, there was one girl. I think her name was Mia? We were a thing when I was like, 13. At least as much of a thing as 13 year olds can be." Jay suddenly stopped working, looking down at the counter. "She was killed in the Dark Skies raids on the Avian Faunus villages. I came across one of the mass grave markers on my way to Vale, and her name was on the list of discovered remains."

Alice froze, suddenly hyper aware of Jay's hunched posture. "I-I'm sorry, Jay," she said, beginning again to nervously spin a knife in her hand. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Jay shook her head. "Hey, don't worry about it. That's a big reason why I got strong, y'know. To make sure that didn't happen again." She abruptly shouted, sticking her finger in her mouth after pinching it in a groove. She wiped it off before continuing. "So, uh, Why the butterflies?"

"Huh?" Alice asked, her voice full of confusion.

"Y'know, your symbol? The bunch of butterflies? Like, mine's a crow skull, because, y'know, giant bird woman. Yours is butterflies because…"

"Oh, I see," Alice said, the symbol appearing in her head. "It's a metaphor. Butterflies start out as harmless, helpless creatures, but after a metamorphosis, become elegant, self-servicing creatures, much like myself. In my case, Oolong was the cocoon."

"Okay, that's way better than 'dead remains of an animal I'm half composed of'. I like it even more." She snapped a metal casing into place. "Got any more questions?"

"Just one," Alice said, pulling the knife back into her arm. "Why'd you always flirt with me, back then? Before we were together?"

Jay guffawed at the question. "Finally, a softball. Right as I finish up too." She picked up the finished arm, and carried it over to Alice, snapping it into place. She sat on the couch next to Alice, smiling wide enough for Alice to pick up the contour of her face. "At first, yeah, it was just me being me, flirting with every pretty girl I met, the most hopeless romantic Vale'd ever seen."

"An apt title, having experienced that romance firsthand," Alice snickered.

"Don't interrupt!" Jay shouted, playfully hitting Alice's shoulder. "Anyway, it all really changed after the first run in with Cole, er, Knightmare, at the Tower. When you came into the gym and talked to me. You, uh, you changed a lot there, if you didn't notice." Jay felt the red creeping back onto her face, and tried desperately to keep it together. "I knew then I had to try it. Try being serious again. Of course I've got all the tact of a beowulf in a glass house, so really all I could do was flirt with you still, and 3 times as hard. Eventually it worked out." She slid close to Alice, bringing her in tight. "And thank goodness for that. Can you imagine me trying to woo you in that warzone?" The both laughed at the mental image. "Well, that's all I got about that."

"Got any more burning questions, then?" Alice said, snuggling deeping into the crook of Jay's arm.

"Why did you say yes? To when I asked you out, I mean." Jay stammered.

Alice giggled at her nerves, even after her long speech seconds ago. "That's easy. It's cause the girl I was smitten with asked me out on a date. The answer was simple."

Jay looked down at Alice in surprise, before chuckling softly. "We're so damned hopeless."

'Yeah, but we're hopeless together."

The two laughed together, relaxing in the forge well into the evening.

"Look, all that I'm saying is that it's weird that Coco is playing Blake in those films, when _she herself_ is a character," Porfirio ranted as he, Sienna, Alice, Jay, and Nero walked down the hallway towards the school's exit. "And going further, why is someone as old as Coco playing a seventeen year old? These films are kinda…"

"Ass?" Jay said, earning a round of laughter from the group. "People eat up true stories though. Remember that bio flick on 'The Mysterious Ozpin?' it was such bullshit."

"Yeah, and the ending was super freaky," Sienna said. "What happened to him? Did he die?"

"Nobody knows, not even Jaune," Porfirio said. "Sometimes I just don't see the point in movies."

"You and me both," Alice said. There was a beat of silence, before the group dissolved into laughter.

"Dammit, I don't think that's gonna get topped until we're a few in," Nero said, before looking into the open door of team SAJJ as they passed it. He continued walking forward, before doubling back. Jahim sat alone in the room, so absorbed in what he was working on in his notebook that he didn't notice the group passing.

"Yo, Nero, c'mon!" Porfirio shouted from down the hall. "It's nickel shot night at The Four Maidens!"

"Yeah, uh, you guys go on ahead. Get a head start," Nero said, looking at Jahim. "I'll meet you all there."

"Sure thing," Porfirio shouted, before beckoning the rest of the crew onward.

Jahim walked into the room, and up to Jahim. "Hey, man. What're you doing all by yourself in here?"

Jahim looked up from his work, before looking back down at it. "I uh, I really don't feel like going out, if that's what you're asking."

"One of my oldest friends comes back from fighting a _war_ , and is secluding himself? No dice, bro." He sat on the bed next to Jahim. "Something up?"

Jahim sighed, knowing better than to try and fight Nero. "I'm stressed about the Vytal tournament next week."

"Shit, that is next week isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Jahim said, staring intently into his notebook.

"You nervous that you'll underperform?"

"It's not that, it's just…" Jahim sighed, setting his pencil down. "It's Tahir."

"Your brother?" Jahim nodded. "What, are you afraid of fighting him?"

"Not really. I think between the four of us, we could take him. Fuck, maybe even in the tags, Alice and Jay could. The rest of his team isn't so tough."

"You guys are gonna send in Jay and Alice?"

"And Jay into the finals, assuming. You expected different?"

Nero chuckled. "No, not really." He looked at the notebook. "What are you working on?"

"Just a sketch. Jay reccomended it, says it helps her settle down when she's stressed. Though she usually draws schematics or stuff like that. I just draw people." He lowered his knees, revealing a drawing of Jay, grinning while cracking her knuckles. The drawing was waist high, and were it not for the pencil tones, Nero could have been convinced it was a photo. The detail was so high, the shading so impressive, Nero's jaw dropped.

"Dude, this is incredible! Where's the reference photo?"

"I don't use reference photos," Jahim said, picking his pencil back up. "I just draw from memory, maybe sometimes checking later, usually with Jay."

"You draw her alot?"

"Only because she's pretty hard. All the scars, and such. It takes a lot longer, so I have to work on it more."

"Would you mind if looked at the sketchbook?" Nero asked, still looking at the drawing.

Jahim paused, and seemed hesitant. He picked up the book, and handed it to Nero. "Go ahead. There's one of you on the 5th page."

Nero took the book in his hand, carefully shutting it before starting at the first page, a portrait of Jay. While the quality was lower than what he had just seen, it was still incredible, and the date in the corner put it months ago, not long after initiation. Then there was one of Donovan, of Alice, of Amber, of himself, and as Nero looked at the drawing, he felt as if he was staring at a mirror. There were multiple sketches of everyone, and even a few landscapes, or ones of Weiss or Yang. He flipped back to the most recent drawing, and handed the notebook back.

"You've got some real talent, dude. You could walk out of here, and have a career waiting for you."

"Except I can't do that," Jahim said, resuming his drawing.

"Why not? There's all kinds of work for artists in this day and-"

"That's not what I meant," Jahim interjected, immediately regretting his harsh tone. "I just… I come from a family of fighters. My father, my mother, my brother, all warriors above all others. Then along comes me, a runt among my family, with nothing but a good memory and some skill with a blade to my name." He set the notebook and pencil back down, simply unable to regain focus. "I'm to become a huntsman, a fighter, a _warrior_. It's who I'm expected to be. I can't just give that up. Besides, I really don't want to anymore, not after meeting you guys. Still, there's so much pressure on me to be as good as my parents, as Tahir, and I'm just not there. I don't think I ever will be. And if Tahir finds that out, I don't know what he'll do. He already pushes me so hard."

"I know the feeling," Nero said, laying back on the bed.

"You do?" Jahim asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You kidding? I'm the son of the _Roses_ , man. Ruby Rose, the slayer of Salem and Vale's Champion, and Weiss Rose, one of the most brilliant and powerful corporate minds on the planet. My deck was stacked before the cards were even printed, man. But the thing is with cards, is that the house always wins."

"Nero, you're overloading your talk with analogies again."

"Whoops, yeah, sorry." He chuckled, before continuing. "But the point is, people who followed our lives had expectations of me, that I was gonna be just like my parents. Thing is, that was never gonna be possible." He turned his head on the pillow, and looked at Jahim. "Jahim, can I confide in you?"

"Sure…" Jahim said, a hesitant tone in his voice.

"I'm really not that close to my parents. I pretty much never talk to either of them, outside of business or class at this point. I pretty expressly avoid them."

"Can I ask why?" Jahim said, his curiosity piqued.

Nero chuckled. "My mothers are strong, stronger than most. My mom's got that silver eye, a weapon against the grimm that fate wielded like a sledgehammer in the war. And my mother's got a crazy fuckin' semblance, you've seen it. I got neither. Eyes bluer than the sky, and semblance more boring than shit. And to top it all off, I was born completely deaf."

"Wait, hold on, _deaf_?" Jahim said, now completely lost.

"Heh, I suppose my implants did their job then." Nero sat up, and pulled his shirt down, revealing a thin cord that protruded from the base of his neck and sat flush against his spine. "They're internal, and are powered by the same power box I use for my gear. The intent was for it to be inconspicuous, so I'm almost glad you never noticed. But getting back to my point," he said, laying back down. "Everyone thought I was the next savior of the waking world, just because of my name. Imagine their dissapointment when I wasn't made leader. Even when I was younger, I never really saw my parents. My mother was always away on business, and mom always had another mission. I was raised more by Yang and Blake than my own parents. I never complained, and I enjoyed the fleeting moments I saw my parents. But it always felt like they were distant, like they were some long lost aunts. I honestly sometimes think, deep down, they knew I'd never amount to much, and invested less time into me than their other obligations. I wonder if they regret it, if they think that they didn't plan far enough ahead. Maybe that's why they had my sister, now that everything's settled down."

Jahim had been looking at the ceiling with Nero, but he turned his head in time to see Nero's eyes streaming tears, to hear a sniffle. "Nero…"

"No, I mean, that's fine. It doesn't matter that she's got that Schnee white hair, or mom's eyes. Now they've got the time. Now they can care for a kid, instead of leaving them behind."

"Nero," Jahim said, trying to get his attention.

"Don't dwell on the past! Keep moving forward!" Nero had began shouting, having sat up in the bed. "Who cares what you're leaving behind, who you neglected, only visiting enough to sate his curiosity about his own fucking _parents!_ Who gives a shit? Learn and move on! Maybe this one will have all our special fucking gifts that make us worth something! Maybe this one isn't disabled as an infant and has to live their life battery to fucking battery just to fucking function! Maybe she'll be good enough for them to not saddle onto their fucking sister to raise!" He curled into a ball, choking on angry sobs. "Maybe she'll be good enough for them to care. I tried when they came back, I tried so hard. Why aren't I good enough for them?"

Jahim grabbed hard onto Nero's shoulder, and shook it. Nero stared daggers at Jahim when he brought his head up, but immediately softened when he saw Jahim's scared expression. "Nero, are… are you okay? Is all of that true?"

Nero sniffled, before chuckling. "I'm sorry, man. I kinda lost it there, didn't I?"

Jahim nodded his head. He hopped into the bed next to Nero, putting his arm around his shoulder. "You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I think so." He let out a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry, I just got thinking, and it went to a nasty place. I'm sorry you had to hear all that. I tried to relate and I just ended up screaming at you. I'm really sorry, man."

Jahim patted his shoulder. "It's okay. To be honest, you probably needed that."

"Yeah, yeah you're right. I kinda just needed to get that out."

"Hey, you wanna just put on one of those shitty RWBY films, and forget about the world for awhile?"

Nero looked at Jahim, and smiled. "Yeah, that sounds alright. We can use my Television in my room."

They got up, and began walking to ASNL's room. Jahim turned to Nero as they walked. "Did Porfirio say 'nickel shot night'?"

Nero laughed. "We _could_ always head to The Four Maidens."

"I think we'll die if we go to The Four Maidens."

They both laughed, as the door to ASNL's dorm shut behind them.

Amber was in the now empty forge, hand grinding Cascade as the sun finally set, darkness taking over the sky. The others had all gone out with Jay and Alice for drinks and a night of celebration, but she still had a large amount of maintenance to do on her blade. Between the mechanicals inside of it, and the sheer amount of edge that needed maintained, Cascade and Collide were often a weekend-long project to take care of.

There was something therapeutic about hand-grinding a blade as large as Cascade. The seven-foot long blade had an edge around the entire sword, aside from the handle at the base of the sword's spine. With that much to keep sharp, the sheer amount of repetition often soothed Amber during times of nightmares or high stress. Now that Donovan was back, she hoped those moments would subside.

Donovan being back, however, meant one other thing; they had to have a talk with her parents. She knew they'd be supportive, that was a given; they _were_ two criminals with bounties that have more zeroes than she had fingers to the right people. Still, she knew that Yang would be… _abrasive_ with Donovan. Yang was almost cartoonishly protective of her, a fact made even sillier by Amber's own combat prowess. Still, Amber wagered Donovan had earned at least _some_ points for his feats in the recent war. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad after all.

As if on cue, Amber's scroll came to life, the text tone she had set for Donovan's number rang out. She had long since had every one of her friend's scroll numbers set to individualized tones, allowing her to know where a message was coming from right away. Part of the reasoning was her old militaristic habits dying hard, maximizing efficiency wherever she could. The other part of it was that it lowered her anxiety significantly if she knew who was messaging her. It had helped a lot, considering she no longer jumped at the sound of her scroll going off. She unlocked the device and looked at Donovan's message.

 _Can you come to the rooftop? It's rather important._

Amber glanced at her sword, and at the time. There was still a good hour of work to be done, but the rest of them wouldn't be back until the wee hours of the morning, knowing her brother, and the fact that they were drinking for nickels at her mother's' bar. She set her tools down, and made sure she was presentable before making her way up to the roof.

When she reached the rooftop, she was immediately surprised by the crackling fire that was at the center of the area. Kneeling in front of the fire with his back to her was Donovan, wearing a sleeveless shirt, exposing his metal arm that gleamed in the fire's light. When the door shut behind her, Donovan looked over his shoulder, his lone brown eye looking at her.

"I'm glad you came. Please, sit down with me."

Amber walked over to the fire, sitting to Donovan's left. She couldn't help but let her gaze linger on the gleaming red cybernetic eye, and how it seemed to softly glow in the evening darkness. She quickly looked back into the fire, logs splintering as they were consumed to fuel it.

"Are you okay?" she asked, unable to think of anything else to say that she hadn't already.

"Heh, 'okay'. That's a pretty word," Donovan said, chuckling despite the tone. "Being okay is such an interesting concept. You can be 'okay' physically, not a single thing wrong with you, but there's damage beneath the surface, in places you can't see. Damage that you can never repair, wounds that will never heal. Is the mind ever really okay?"

"You're thinking about Knightmare, aren't you?" Amber said, turning to look at Donovan. His fists balled up at the mention of his name.

"I'm not thinking of that person. I'm thinking of the person that he killed. That _I_ killed."

"What are you talking about?" Amber's voice was one of complete confusion. She placed her hand on Donovan's metal shoulder.

"I asked you to come up here because there's something the reports, and the media, and all the stories didn't encompass. I want to tell you everything. About me, about my brother, about Dark Skies. Everything." He looked into her eyes, his gaze one of sorrow. "Will you listen?"

Amber was suddenly fearful. What did all of this have to do with Dark Skies? With _her_? She looked back at him, and nodded her head. "Absolutely."

Amber looked at Donovan, a solemn expression on her face as she listened to him recount his days in his tribe with his brother. She winced at the racism of his father, and put a hand on Donovan's when he choked down a sob in the middle of recounting his brother's pleas for help, and his ignoring of them as he sprinted into the woods. He wiped his eyes, before continuing the painful recounting.

"I didn't see Cole, or anyone from my tribe, until that day. I spent most of my time in the hospital and in between interviews reading dossiers and articles on Dark Skies, and the puzzle pieces fell into place. Cole survived, and returned to the shattered remains of my tribe. He twisted their minds with hatred, and lead them to terrible acts of hatred against humankind. My brother created Dark Skies. My brother was the one responsible for the attack on the comm tower, and so much more." He choked on his words again, barely holding himself together. "My brother was the one who took you from your family, who used you as an experiment, a soldier." He let out a sob, followed by a chuckle. "It's almost poetic, isn't it? I'm finally able to believe my actions were justified. I'm helping people, and along the way, I meet someone special. Someone I can love. And I'm the one responsible for the worst thing to ever happen to them." His gaze fell to the floor, tears dripping onto the concrete. His hands clenched in his lap, and he choked on another sob. "My selfish actions have destroyed so many lives. My people's, My brother's, _yours_. How can I face your family, our friends, _you_ , knowing that?" He looked at Amber, a lone stream of tears from his right eye burning itself into her sight. "How can I trust myself to be there for someone who I've hurt so much?"

"Donovan…" Amber felt her heart shatter at his words. She had wondered why Donovan, usually stone faced and wise, faltered so easily when he had arrived. She had no idea the weight of what he was carrying.

"I don't expect you to forgive me," He said, returning his gaze to the fire. "I don't expect anything of you. I just… I knew you had to know this. You're too important to me to not know the truth of what happened."

"Donovan, that's not the truth. You didn't do any of that!" Amber placed her hands on Donovan's feeling them clench tighter beneath hers. "Cole, _Knightmare_ , that monster did those things."

"There… there is a saying with my father used to say. 'It is not the crop's fault if a poison seed was planted.' I planted the seed, Amber. I abandoned Cole, I abandoned all of them! He hurt you because of me! If I hadn't been so _selfish_ , you wouldn't have had to endure what you did."

"But I never would have met you." Donovan turned to meet Amber's gaze, her own eyes stained lightly. "Sure, I never would have become the… _weapon_ I became, but I never would have become a huntress. I would have never come here, to try and make the most of my new strength by _helping_ people. I would have never met Jay, or Alice, or _you_. I would have never fallen in love, Donovan." She grabbed onto his hands tighter. "I'm not letting what happened to me define me. I'm not the person I used to be. I've made my own life, I'm happy, and I'm helping people instead of killing them. I'm choosing my own fate. You taught me that. You _did_ that. You told me to become the Amber Xiao Long I _am_ , not the Amber Xiao Long that _was_. Don't let something in your past define you, like I did, like you told me not to. You're not at fault. Nobody blames you, just like you told me nobody blames me for what happened." She laughed, a short, nervous sound that caught Donovan off guard. "You know, I'd never really, _missed_ someone before. I've never really gotten familiar enough with anyone who wasn't always around to miss them when they were gone for the brief periods they were. When you left, it was like an actual pain. Like I'd been struck in the chest the day prior, every day I couldn't see you, or hear from you. It hurt almost as bad as when Jay and I first fought, and she broke both of my arms." She noticed Donovan's eyes bulge, and chuckled again. "Relax, it worked out, obviously. But the point is, it reaffirmed something I'd been thinking for almost a whole year now. If I were given the choice to go back to when it happened, to never be taken, to simply erase that from history, I wouldn't do it. I would keep time as it is now. Well, maybe I wouldn't have let you go off to that war, but mostly the same." She chuckled, and Donovan couldn't keep down a smile. "You were right. I'm not the Amber that I was before then, and I don't wanna be. I want to be me, here and now, with you, watching the fire and holding the hands of the person I'm in love with. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Donovan raised his hands, pulling them from underneath Amber's and enveloped her in an embrace. Amber reciprocated, hearing the faint hum of his synthetic heart while her ear was pressed to his neck veins. He pulled back, wiping his eye while smiling wide. "There's another reason I wanted to bring you up here."

"Hm? What would that be?" Donovan scooted away from Amber, pulling a short dagger from his waist. From the look of it, it appeared to be one of Alice's. Donovan saw Amber's eyes bulge at the sight of it, and raised his hand in a calming gesture.

"Relax, I'm not going to do anything ridiculous." He turned to the fire. "Just something I should have done years ago."

"What would that be?" Amber asked, still cautious of the knife.

"There is a tradition among my… former people. When a loved one dies, you cut your hair, and you keep it cut until you are done mourning." He tightened his grip on the blade. "I lived for years believing my brother to be dead, but I always held onto the hope that he had survived, that despite everything, my brother was alive. It was only after seeing Cole again, did I realize my brother died that night." He placed the knife at the base of his ponytail's band, and slashed through the hair, taking it in his hand. His remaining hair fell around his head, short and unbound. He took the ponytail, and gently placed it into the fire. "I'm no longer Donovan Stormbringer. I named myself for the people I belong to, and the Stormbringer people stand for things I cannot anymore."He turned to Amber. "I'm Donovan Sage, and my path is my own, like yours, like ours." The two watched the hair burn, Amber locking her fingers around Donovan's metal hand.

"Amber, thank you," Donovan said. "Thank you for… everything."

"And thank you, Donovan," Amber said, her grip tightening. "Thank you for coming home."

The two leaned into each other, watching the fire until Donovan spoke up. "I, er, may have underestimated how bad burning hair smells."

"Yeah," Amber said, with a chuckle. "Let's go inside."

Amber stamped out the fire, and the two returned downstairs, never letting go of each other's hands.


	41. Round 1

Welcome to the Vytal Tournament!"

The crowd roared over Yang's voice on the loudspeaker, the levitating colosseum packed to standing room only for the centerpiece of the Vytal festival. The event was, as it always is, being televised across the planet, and the cameras were currently fixed on the commentator's box, and on both Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose, who were seated at it. Yang had gotten special permission to wear Lawbreaker for the cameras, and the the clawed fingers of the wicked prosthetic were curled around the microphone in front of her.

"I'm Yang Xiao Long, Criminal Mastermind and mother of two!"

"And I'm Ruby Rose, Champion of Vale," Ruby said calmly next to Yang's bombastic tone.

"You all know how this goes!" Yang shouted into the microphone, pulling the mic off it's stand. "Teams of four battle in the first round. The winners move onto the doubles round, and the winners of _those_ move onto the singles, which is the part _everyone's_ waiting for, am I right?" Another wave of cheers rocked the stadium. "Alright Rubes, who's on the ticket for round 1?"

Ruby pushed a pair of glasses up onto her nose, looking at the paper in front of her. "Looks like it's gonna start off with a bang, with these two teams!"

" _I_ always start my matches with a-"

"Don't," Ruby said, covering Yang's mouth with her hand. "Let's hear it for Team ASNL of Nikos, and Team…" She turned to Yang, whispering in her hear. " _Yang how do you say that?"_

" _Like cocoon, Rubes."_

"Right, sorry, give it up for Team KUCN of Haven!"

Team ASNL walked out onto the center platform, and looked over their opponents. One was a tall, bald man, and had a frighteningly large hammer, and was clad in armour that looked thicker than Amber's. One had what looked like a machine gun for an arm, and had a giant cylinder strapped to her back that Amber couldn't identify, but otherwise looked lightly armoured. One girl was not only in what looked like a cowboy's hat, but also had two, one-handed axes, and Amber spied a trigger inside the blade of one. She suspected they combined into some sort of firearm. Lastly, and most mystifyingly, was the woman Amber assumed to be their leader, judging by the way she stood in front of them all. She wore a robe-like, hooded cloak with long coattails, but had tight black pants and rugged looking combat boots on her feet. She looked unarmed, save for an almost comically large book she held under her arm. It looked well over a foot by a foot and a half in size, and at least 5 inches thick. Most interesting of all was the cover, which looked as if it was composed out of twisted, grotesque steel. The woman's hood was up, but curled horns snaked their way out of holes in the hood. Amber wondered how she got the hood on, and if it even came off. The leader turned to face her team, shaking her head.

"Why can't anyone pronounce our team name? It's not that hard!"

"Maybe because most of these team names are complete malarky?" The girl with the handaxes said. "Seriously," she continued, looking towards Amber, "how the shit did y'all get 'arsenal' out of that? It ain't right."

Amber rolled her eyes, before pulling her sword off her back, and pointing it at the enemy leader. "As the leader of Team ASNL, I wish you the best of luck."

KUCN's leader's mouth curled into a wicked smile, and a giggle escaped her lips. "And as the leader of Team KUCN, allow me to say that you're pretty cute."

 _Seriously, again?_ Amber thought, bringing her sword down. "Flattery won't get you very far, friend. You're not the first person to try that." She gazed into the audience, where she knew Jay would be. She made eye contact with her, as Jay's face began to match the red suede of the chair she was slowly sinking into. She smiled as she watched Alice trying to breathe as laughter overtook her, and Jahim not being far behind. Even Donovan was grinning, and she swore she saw him chuckle.

"Oh, then it is getting me _somewhere_ , then," said the KUCN leader. "That's good to hear."

Amber felt her eye twitch. "Yang, you can hit that gong any time."

Ruby turned to Yang in the booth. "Shall we commence the round, Yang?"

Yang's eyes were on the edge of being crimson, as she stood up, and walked to the gong behind her. She wound up, and struck it with all the might she could, the sound reverberating through the speakers. "Begin!"

The two terrains were selected, mountainous terrain emerging behind ASNL and volcanic terrain behind KUCN. Amber ducked down, and gripped her sword tight. "Sienna, Grandslam!" she shouted.

Sienna twirled her bat, giggling as she wound it back. "Aww yeah, let's rock and roll!" she yelled, as Amber lept off the ground right as she swung. Amber planted her feet on Sienna's bat right as she pulled the trigger, the force of the buckshot sending Amber rocketing towards KUCN's leader at high speeds.

" _Urien!_ " the leader cried, and the armoured man with the hammer quickly raised his weapon and braced himself against the tremendous force of Amber's blade crashing into him. The leader sighed, and patted Urien on the shoulder as he grabbed Amber out of the air by her head and threw her into a nearby rock face, chunking a good 5% of her aura off. "Good save, big guy."

"And a solid reaction from you, Warchief."

"Please stop calling me that. It's been two damned years." She surveyed the enemy team, noting all of their now deployed weapons. Her eyes darted back and forth, and she snapped to each of her teammates. "Urien, isolate their leader, she's their muscle, we don't need her breaking through."

"Wilco!" Urien said, striding forward and burying the head of his hammer in the stone where Amber's head was a fraction of a second ago.

"Caroline, surpressing fire on the one with the hook and the one with the weird gun. They're weaker links, they can't answer your firepower."

"Gotcha, Nao," the one with the gun arm said, firing her arm as she ran towards Sienna and Nero.

"What about me?" The girl with the handaxes asked, looking expectantly at her leader. At the same time, they both snapped toward a shouting Porfirio, using his semblance's flames to propel himself at what he thought was a distracted leader. Nao blocked the flying punch with her tome, letting him land before stomping on his left foot. She struck him across the head with the book, and delivered a swift kick to his groin with her free foot after he snagged on her foot while falling backward. Once he had doubled over, she struck the back of his head with the spine of her book, before planting her foot on his head and kicking him away, a solid 30% of the aura meter belonging to Porfirio now drained.

"Deal with that one, Citrine," she said, giggling to herself. "Keep them off me, I'll provide support where I can."

"Sure thing," Citrine said, grinning at Porfirio as he stood up. He ignited both of his arms in violet fire, and the two charged at eachother, blade colliding with fist.

The ground shook as Urien's hammer impacted where Amber had been a second prior, having dodged out of the way. He deftly spun it back upward to block a downward strike from Cascade, before jabbing Amber in the stomach with the pommel of the hammer, and grabbing her head with his giant hand before hoisting her over his head and slamming her into the ground face-first. He then attempted to bring his hammer down onto her abdomen, but Amber managed to roll out of the way, wincing as the ground around her shattered. She hopped to her feet, and depressed the trigger on Cascade's grip, freeing Collide from inside of it. She grasped Cascade's massive blade in her standard left and underhanded grip, and dashed forward. She adopted a circular pattern of motion, loosing a steady flow of strikes to Urien's defense. As she moved, her hair glowed more and more, and the advantage her semblance was granting her finally allowed her to land a blow to Urien's abdomen with Cascade's goliath blade. The armoured giant stumbled backward, bracing himself on his hammer.

"You're stronger than you seem," he said, straightening his posture. "Those blades look to be thousands of pounds, and you hold them as if they're nothing."

"I get that a lot," Amber said, pacing so as not to lose her momentum.

"Well, you've succeeded in making me take this seriously. I should hope your friends are as strong as you are." He slammed his fist into the circle that resided in the center of his chestpiece, and suddenly two cylinders popped out of his shoulders, both perforated and having spouts at the top. Bright orange liquid began to flow through the dividing lines in his armour, making the silver metal glow red-hot. When the liquid reached his collar, a pillar of flame engulfed his entire head, only his eyes and wicked grin remaining, and exhaust fumes poured out of the spouts on his shoulders. Amber gazed at Urien's aura meter, and say it wasn't taking any damage. She looked back at him, as the head of his hammer flattened and transformed into a hook-bladed axe, the edge glowing red hot and dripping with what looked like molten metal.

"It looks like Urien's activated his Hephaestus Suit to take advantage of his semblance!" Ruby shouted, looking on from the booth. "The higher his body temperature gets, the stronger he becomes!"

Amber swallowed, looking at Urien's wicked, toothy grin. He opened his mouth, his voice seemingly distorted through the fire.

" _Let's turn up the heat._ "

Sienna and Nero ran in tandem across the cracked, volcanic plateau, as Caroline's unending stream of fire pushed them behind a suitably sturdy rock to avoid unwanted perforation. Nero turned to Sienna, the two blind-firing their guns at where they assumed Caroline was.

"Sienna, listen carefully, you hear that?"

"The sound of bullets? Yeah, I hear it, about 25 times, and then a pause, and then 25 more-"

"No, that's it!" Nero shouted over the pitter-patter of the bullets impacting behind them. "That model of prosthetic firearm has 25 round clips, and houses 5 internally for expedient reloading. After that, she'll have to load in another internal mag to be able to fire again." Sienna merely tilted her head, wholly unable to comprehend what she just heard. "Look, just count to 125. When you hear 125 bullets, we charge her, got it?"

"But what about that big cylinder?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Nero shouted, readying his sword and gun. He waited patiently for Sienna to count, trying to keep count himself and failing miserably.

"Now!" Sienna shouted, and the two burst from behind their rock, as Caroline brought her arm down from reaching behind her, her arm cannon entering a port at the end of the cylinder, and bringing it down in front of her, a half-dozen barrels gleaming in the sunlight. Nero and Sienna quickly ducked under the rock again as an even denser hail of fire rained upon their position.

"Hey Nero, I figured out what the cylinder was," Sienna said.

"Oh, do tell," Nero sarcastically shouted.

"Bigger gun," she replied, carefully counting shots again as the battle raged on around her.

" _Thalo Ganisi!"_ Nao shouted, a burst of green fire surging from her hand as the pages of her tome glowed the same emerald shade. Porfirio deflected the shot with his hand as he parried blows from Citrine's axes, and delivered a punch to her chest that sent her stumbling back.

"You sure their leader's the muscle?" Citrine panted, exhaustion taking hold in her as her aura drooped below 50% at the hand of Porfirio's strikes. "This guy's blows hit harder than a good Mistrali Liquor."

"He's got a technique I've never seen," Nao said, flipping to a different page in her book. "He's absorbing my attacks, and funneling them into his own. His martial art is also completely foreign."

"I'm flattered you think I'm worth two of you," Porfirio said, "but please, try harder." He suddenly turned pure violet before vanishing completely, reappearing in the air over Citrine and bringing both his feet down onto her head, knocking her to the ground. He lept off her head, and surged his fist toward Nao, who raised her hand to the blow.

" _Thalo Cenari!_ " she shouted, and a thick wall of vines burst from the ground, blocking the blow and separating the two. Nao jumped backward from the wall, as Citrine's body broke through it, the two women colliding and skidding backward. Citrine growled as she stood up, and slammed the poles of her axes together, which extended and formed some form of rifle, which she trained that Porfirio.

"Eat dust, prettyboy!" she snarled, firing a powerful charge of dust at Porfirio. Porfirio stepped his left foot back, bracing himself as he raised a pillar of flame in front of the shot's path. As it passed through it, the charge's red colour became the same shade as Porfirio's wall. He caught the shot, skidding backwards a few feet. He stepped forward, and threw the charge back at Citrine with the same force it had come at him. Citrine barely had the time to utter a "Son of a _bitch._ " before the charge collided with her head, knocking her unconscious and into the center arena. Her hat flew off, and Porfirio plucked it out of the air, placing it on his own head.

"And like that, Citrine's eliminated!" Yang shouted from the booth, to an eruption of cheers. Porfirio looked towards Nao, tipping his newly acquired hat.

"For your sake, I hope she was the weak link," he said, reigniting his arms. "We've got the number advantage now, this fight's all but ours."

Nao merely laughed at his words. "The number's advantage?" she flipped to another page in her book, and raised her hand. "I think you're understimating me. _Sotnem Rasor, nel Dan'Neru!"_

Porfirio's stride toward Nao was interrupted by a green arm bursting through the ground in front of him, causing him to skid to a halt. The arm helped the rest of the body climb out of the earth, the sight causing Porfirio to take a few steps backward. The beast was a humanoid monster, green skin and curled horns spouting from the head that contained razor shapr fangs and soulless green eyes. The monster roared, before slamming its fists down at Porfirio's position. He lept back, looking incredulously at the monster. "Okay, what the _fuck_. Pretty sure demonology wasn't in the syllabus."

Nao turned her attention to Urien's fight with Amber, where the now flaming goliath was around on par with her, both trading and landing blows on eachother. Nao turned to another page, and pointed her hand at Urien. " _Urien Fel'Ganisi, nel Entama!_ "

A runic circle appeared under Urien, causing Amber to hop back away from him. The orange, molten metal inside his suit began turning Nao's shade of bright green, the fire around his head erupting into the same shade. Amber's view of his face became even more twisted and fearful, and his voice was even more distorted, as he laughed at Amber.

" _Witness true strength_."

Nao turned to Caroline's suppressive fire on the rock Sienna and Nero were behind, and again flipped to a specific page, raising her hand at the rock. " _Thalo Oyekai!_ " As she spoke, a whirlwind spun up behind the rock, carrying Nero and Sienna into the air. Caroline adjusted her fire to attempt to hit the suspended individuals, but her shots were blocked by Nero quickly spinning the blade of his sword to create a barrier that blocked the fire.

"How is Nao doing all of this? It almost looks like the work of a maid- er, magician!" Yang said, scratching her head in confusion.

"That's her semblance," Ruby said, looking at the document in front of her. "Nao's aura reacts to certain words, and those reactions resonate with the dust infused in her book to create fantastic feats, from increasing the temperature of Urien's suit, to summoning… whatever that is that's attacking Porfirio."

Amber grunted, her swords crossed and blocking Urien's axe, and she caught a glimpse of Nao, turning and refreshing each of her attacks with a repeated phrase, stabilizing the monster clashing blows with Porfirio, lengthening the empowerment of Urien, and keeping Nero and Sienna airborne. She suddenly realized, through this gaze, the crux, and fault of KUCN's strategy. "Sienna!" she shouted, "Kung-Fu Hustle, to me!"

Sienna, from behind Nero's makeshift shield, quickly twirled her hook and tossed it, lodging it in a rock formation behind Amber. She used the motor the chain was on to pull herself at Amber and Urien, screaming as her body assumed the position for a flying kick. As Caroline pivoted her fire to trial her, Amber pushed Urien back with all her force, sending him stumbling into Sienna's kick, and into Caroline's line of fire, causing Caroline to briefly stop shooting.

"Nero, Drop the Beat, _now_! Onto their leader!"

Nero grinned, and pulled up his sound box. He maximized the volume, set the playlist to _Concussive_ , and turned off his hearing aids, making him completely deaf. He slammed the play button before firing a concussion from his gun, propelling him through the air, and landing by Nao as he threw off his coat. Underneath it was an elaborate harness of speakers that roared to life, blasting electronic music at a volume so high nothing else was audible. At the same time, Amber reached into her pocket, pulling out an earpiece and powering it on. As she spoke, her words were blasted through the speakers, and, against her better judgement, autotuned.

"Their leader's words are what makes her attacks work. If she can't be heard, she can't attack! Porfirio, Sienna, take on the axe wielder! I've got the gunwoman!"

The crowd roared and danced to the music, and the commentator's reactions were barely audible. "Wow," Ruby said, "an incredible tactic from team ASNL! Now KUCN is down not only Nao's incredible power, but also the ability to communicate at all! What do you think of this momentum shift, Yang? Yang?" Ruby turned, before sighing in disappointment, her co-commentator having succumbed to the music, dancing her heart out.

As Amber ran to face Caroline, and Porfirio surged toward Urien, Nao shouted in frustration as the beast she had summoned faded from existence, her inaudiability preventing her from maintaining it. She spun around, and angrilly slammed her book towards Nero. The tome was stopped by Nero's single, outstretched hand, having combined his gun and sword into a much longer blade held in his right hand. Nero was bopping his head to the music, and a grin appeared on his face.

"Nullifying KUCN's strategy isn't the only benefit Nero's music is giving," Ruby excitedly said. "Nero's semblance is also now activated by the music, his aura resonating with the heavy baseline to increase his strength to incredible levels!"

Nao's eyes went wide as Nero pushed the tome back, making Nao stumble, where he spun and made a sweeping vertical slash across her abdomen with his sword, followed by two more sweeping back and forth in rapid succession. He ducked under another strike from Nao before bringing his left hand up and into her chin, delivering an uppercut that picked Nao up off the ground and sent her sailing backward into the mountain face. She fell to the ground, and attempted to get up before stumbling back down, getting eliminated by her aura count and being forced to watch her team's downfall.

Nero turned to see Porfirio and Sienna wailing on Urien, his deft skill with his axe still not enough to keep up with both of them in tandem. Sienna managed to land a harsh blow to his chest, exposing the Dust drive that powered his suit. Porfirio wound back and planted both fists into the drive, before igniting his legs and propelling both him and Urien into the air. As they flew, the highlights in Urien's armour once again changed colour, this time becoming Porfirio's shade of purple. While Porfirio took Urien higher. Amber drew Collide as she neared Caroline. The gunwoman attempted to spin the barrel of her minigun, but Amber stabbed her narrow blade in between the barrels, both stopping Caroline from firing and keeping her in place. At the same time, Porfirio began his descent, spinning Urien around and pushing him off, causing him to impact chest-first into the volcanic plateau next to Caroline and Amber. Porfirio then came down himself, bringing both feet down in a terrible stomp onto Urien's back, driving the Dust drive into the ground until it broke. The now Royal Purple dust leaked into the Red Dust used to synthesize the volcanic environment, and the entire half of the arena erupted into purple. Porfirio and Amber leapt back onto the center platform as Urien and Caroline looked at them confusedly. Porfirio tipped his new had once more before snapping his fingers. When he did, the entire half of the arena violently exploded into a pillar of flame, engulfing the two and draining all of their aura in an instant, the two collapsing to the ground. The score stood at ASNL having all 4 members standing, while KUCN was completely eliminated. Nero cut the music, and reactivated his hearing aids before walking to Nao, who sat on the ground. The commentators offered congratulations to team ASNL over the roar of the crowd as Nero knelt down, offering his hand to Nao.

"Hey, good fight. You were pretty st-" Nero stopped himself when he realized her hands were raised not to take his, but to shield herself. She was shivering, and Nero swore he heard a whimper. "Hey, you okay? The match is over, so-"

"I-I'll do what you w-want, please d-don't burn me again," she whimpered, her speech stumbling over sobs. The rest of ASNL and KUCN had walked over, and Nero placed his hand in front of his team.

"She's having an attack, give her space." He turned to KUCN. "Is this common? Was it something we did?"

Urien nodded. "The fire might have done it. Nao was serverely burned by her parents as punishment when she was young. She had a similar reaction the first time I used the Hephaestus Suit. I know what to do." He reached into his pocket, and began dialing. He wasn't more than halfway through the number before he stopped, turning his head to the sound of rapidly advancing footsteps. "It seems she was prepared for this."

A thin, limber woman tore her way through the crowd. Her legs were prosthetic, covered partially by shorts decorated in patches, and the strange top she wore seemed to gradient from blue, to pink, to white, and then to pink and to blue again. Her blonde hair was short and messy, and her blue eyes were full of tears. She grabbed Nao's shoulders, gazing into her eyes as she looked up. ASNL could see her face now that her hood had fallen, and the entire left side of her face was coated in burn scars.

"Nao, Nao! Are you alright?" the new girl shouted, and it seemed to make Nao calm slightly.

"Gloria, there… the fire.." She collapsed into sobs, throwing herself around Gloria. Gloria picked her up, tossing her book to Urien.

"She'll be okay, she just needs a bit. You guy's spooked her pretty bad is all. No worries. I'll make sure she's okay. You guys take care." She carried Nao out, and the rest of the students followed suit. On the way out, Porfirio looked at Citrine and pointed to her hat on his head, but she waved dismissively. Porfirio shrugged, and accepted the gift.


	42. Concessions and Meetings

Several hours, and several more spectated fights later, Teams ASNL and SAJJ walked through the Vytal fairgrounds, eating fair food as they discussed that day's combat.

"Man, did you see GLDN though?" Jay asked around a mouthful of her fried corn on the cob. "Fuck me, if 4th year teams aren't strong. Who was that bull faunus, the one that fought without weapons?"

"Bruno Dume," Donovan said, checking the fighter database on his scroll. "He's a boxer, apparently." He switched to an overview of all matches fought. "Overall, it looks like it was a very good day for Nikos, with around a 60% winrate for our schools. Atlas has a higher winrate of 75%, but they only brought 4 teams, and all of them played today. We've still got a large amount of teams that fight tomorrow, including us."

"We kicked ass today though," Sienna shouted. "Like, Porfirio, that finisher was _awesome_."

"Not as cool as Nero drowning out the entire stadium with music," Porfirio retorted. "That's the reason we won, Nao's semblance is almost as strong as mine. Almost."

"I hope she's alright," Nero said, taking a drink of a Vacuo-brewed beer. "She looked pretty shaken up."

"Looks like you won't have to wait very long," Amber said, pointing to a stall with stools around it. At it sat Nao, and the girl that had carried her out of the arena. The other girl had her arm around Nao, who, by the looks of things, had begun drinking. ASNL and SAJJ approached, and as they did, they heard the two of them talking.

"... and of all the damned things, it had to be a giant pillar of fucking fire. Of all the attacks on Remnant, it was _that_ ," Nao said, taking a long drink.

"Come on, love," the other girl said, pulling her in tighter. "You know it ain't your fault."

"It's still embarassing, having an attack in the middle of a fucking match. I'll bet I'm the laughing stock of the kingdoms."

"On the contrary," Jay interjected, stepping forward from the group and towards the two girls, "I thought you put on a damn good showing. That power of yours is really fascinating."

Nao and Gloria quickly pivoted on their seats, breaking apart as they turned to face the speaker. Their eyes bulged at the sight of the two teams standing in front of them. "Oh, team ASNL, and… team _SAJJ?_ " Nao said, surprise evident in her tone. "What brings you here?"

"We noticed you were here, and wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened," Nero said. "You looked pretty panicked."

"Sorry about that, by the way," Porfirio said, "the whole pillar thing. I was just trying to be flashy, is all."

"No, no, there's no need to apologize," Nao said, setting her drink down. It wasn't anything anyone could have predicted would happen. Urien tells me he told you why it occurred?"

"Yes," Amber said, unable to take her eyes off the large patch of scarring covering most of the left side of Nao's head. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Not too many of us have pasts clean of trauma."

"Indeed, it isn't anything to fret over," Donovan said, smiling at the pair. "Your display today was more than enough to nullify any ill words spread."

Nao smiled sheepishly at the praise. "Your words mean a lot, thank you." She turned to her companion. "This is-"

"Gloria Gradient, Mistral's premier demolitions expert, and leader of team GOBI, at your service loves," the other woman interrupted. "If you all came out here to make sure my girl was okay," she continued, bringing Nao back in, "then you're okay in my book."

"Oh, you two are from Mistral?" Jay asked, the two of them nodding. "How's life back home going?"

"Well, once Dark Skies moved out, Haven and the central government managed to restore order," Nao said. "Most of the villages that were attacked have begun recovering."

Jay's eyes lit up. "Did a village named Yata-Garasu manage to rebuild?"

Both Nao and Gloria's expressions sombered. "I'm afraid not," Gloria said. "There's a monument with all the victims' names, but the villages hit in the Avian Genocide were left alone. Mistral observes the anniversary as a day of remembrance."

The group was quiet for a moment, Alice's hand wrapping tight around Jay's, before Jay chuckled. "Well, that's actually way better than I expected. At least it got the attention it needed. We're calling it a genocide now?" Nao nodded. "That's, well, I really don't know how it feels." She shook her head. "I'm probably on that marker, thinking about it. Might have to go out there and see. I've been looking for an excuse to go home. It's been years."

"If I may ask," Donovan said, aiming to shift the subject, "how did you two recognize us? You seemed almost surprised to see us."

Gloria's expression brightened. "You lot haven't been back too long, have you?"

Alice shook her head. "Only about a week."

"You're all pretty famous across Remnant for your actions in General Schnee's coup," Nao said. "You're viewed as heroes in Mistral. There's a lot of younger huntsmen in training that are looking up to you now."

"Ain't that some pressure," Jay said, getting a laugh out of the group. "Still, that's pretty cool, we're like celebrities. Imagine the paparazzi taking pictures of us when we go to coffee shops or some shit."

The group again laughed, before Donovan's eyes went wide. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Team, I'm going into town for a private meeting. You're to train until I return."

"Understood!" the rest of SAJJ said, as Donovan waved goodbye and ran off into the crowd towards town. ASNL, as well as Nao and Gloria, looked at the 3 remaining members of SAJJ standing sharply at attention, before relaxing. Jay laughed when she noticed the stares.

"Old habits may die hard, but new habits aren't fond of dying too quickly either," she said, and the group sat around the small bar swapping stories well into the afternoon.

Donovan sat in Matlal's Coffee, staring at Blake across from him as she drank her coffee. Her familiar amber eyes narrowed at him, and she set the mug down.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet me out here," he said, his hands folded on the table. He was still feeling self conscious about his cybernetics, and was wearing an eyepatch and his long-sleeved coat, with a leather glove over his left hand.

"I told you we would talk, and you asked me to talk," Blake said. "It would have been unprofessional of me to deny a student in need of council regardless, but this is indeed an important case." Her gaze moved to Donovan's left arm. "How have your phantom pains been, Donovan?"

Donovan felt the false muscles in his left arm tense. "My arm hasn't had any in some time, but they're still regular in my eye. Weiss gave me some useful tips on mitigating them somewhat, and that's helped. She also recommended acupuncture, though I'm rather afraid to try it. I'm not very good around needles."

"Yang has the same issue, believe it or not. You should have seen her when they needed to put her under for a minor surgery." Blake giggled at the memory. "I can count the number of times I've seen my wife in a state of actual terror on one hand, and that one sits comfortably on my index finger." The two laughed at the thought, and Blake composed herself. "Of course, I imagine idle chatter about your prosthesis isn't why you wanted to talk."

"No, no it isn't," Donovan said, sighing as his laughter died. "Professor, I'm-"

"Please, we're talking as friends and colleagues right now, Donovan," she said, putting her hand out to stop him mid sentence. "Call me Blake."

"Right," Donovan said, clearing his throat. "Blake, I'm… _romantically involved_ with your daughter."

Blake chuckled. "You can say that you're dating, Donovan. We're not at some business meeting."

"I know, I just _really_ hate that term, and my nerves made that the one that came up." Donovan said, his gaze suddenly fixed hard on the text on the side of the napkin dispenser, grateful for any reprieve from eye contact with Blake.

"Why are you nervous?" Blake asked.

"Because…" Donovan sighed, his head dropping all the way downwards. "This is so new for me, feeling this way. I've never met someone like Amber, someone I can go months without seeing, yet occupies my thoughts every day. It's something I want to hold onto with everything I have, but I don't know what's wrong and what's right. I'm nervous that if I do something wrong, I could hurt her, and lose her. That terrifies me."

"Well, you shouldn't worry so much," Blake said, prompting Donovan to raise his head again. "You've done the opposite of hurt Amber, at least of what I've seen."

"What do you mean?" Donovan asked, thoroughly confused at Blake's language.

Blake briefly shut her eyes, her feline ears twitching slightly. "Amber's disappearance was the worst time of my life. Spending all that time unsure of whether or not we'd lost her forever. When Jay delivered her to us, when I saw her face, and heard her voice, I knew we had. The Amber I knew was replaced by a jaded, trained soldier, angry at a world she barely knew. She mellowed over time, but I rarely saw her smile. Her habits became self destructive, and she grew distant from even her family." Blake opened her eyes back up, and smiled at Donovan. "Once she came here, to Nikos, I noticed things change. Amber was angry and sad less, she smiled and laughed more. She even recently quit smoking, something she attributes to you." She chuckled. "She talked about you a lot, you know. She came clean when you left, about you two. How you talked to her, took her out hunting instead of doing self destructive things, and, above all, made her comfortable with who she is. Donovan, for the first time in a long time, my daughter is happy with who she is. She's beginning to love herself, because she loves you. That alone is something I'll always be thankful to you for." She put her hand on Donovan's. "You're not hurting her. You're helping her heal."

Donovan returned her smile, relief clear in his expression. "Your words mean a lot, Blake. You've done a good job at making me less anxious about talking to you." He swallowed, his eye moving towards the ring on Blake's finger. "However, about talking to _her…_ "

Blake laughed again. "I know Yang can seem intimidating, but she means well. She has her reasoning for acting how she does about Amber."

"I assume it has to do with her past?" Donovan asked.

"Not just hers, _ours_." Blake's ears twitched again. "It may seem easy to forget, but we aren't good people, Donovan. Yang and I are recovering criminals. We lied, we stole, we killed, and we did it for years." She brushed some hair out of her face. "I really don't know if I have words that can describe it. We lived like we were dying, every day of our lives. We were rich to an almost cartoonish degree. We had everything we wanted, but it wasn't in the hollow, 'now we realize that what we really wanted wasn't material' kind of way. There wasn't a fairy tale ending, we didn't miraculously go clean when the war was over. This wasn't the first time I had been a criminal, but this was the first time I was doing it for _me_. It was… exhilarating. And we were even helping people, in a way, by knocking out smaller, looser gangs and driving the grimm out. I really do think that if we hadn't had the twins, we would still be out there."

"So, what changed?" Donovan said. "What made you give it all up, and start a family?"

"Yang changed, actually," Blake said, a smile returning to her face. "Believe it or not, it was her falling for me that got us out of the crime scene." She chuckled, shaking her head. "Part of me is jealous that you and Amber have hit it off so smoothly. Yang and I's relationship was far more turbulent."

"Really? Those films and stories make it sound like you two had been together since your academy days."

"Those stories take liberties, like I told you in class," Blake said, rolling her eyes. "They usually dislike mentioning Yang's worse times. When she scared even me. Did Yang or I ever tell you about when we met back up after the Fall?"

"I don't think so, would you have?"

"I doubt it, it's a darker time, not one I like to think about."

Blake could hear the pounding dance music even before she got into the club, an old building called The Four Maidens. Blake had heard that it was the same bar that the old gang boss Junior had worked with, but he'd been usurped by a new boss, a woman named Stardust. She'd taken her own gang, as well as what was left of his, and built the Dragons, a gang that currently had a vicegrip on all of Vale. They were also the last thread Blake had to follow. Going after Adam by herself had proved disastrous. Ruby's gang of peacekeepers were as mobile as they were hard to find. And there was no way a faunus like her was risking going into Atlas just to see if Weiss cared enough to come back. That only left… _her_. Blake sighed as she stopped in front of the door to the bar.

Yang had proven more difficult to find than she'd anticipated. She'd heard that she had gone back to Patch, but a search there yielded only an empty house, and a father Blake had no interest in provoking with questions. The subsequent wild goose chase of clues had lead her to the Dragons. She had heard that a young woman with long blonde hair had been seen with members of them some time ago. It was virtually nothing to go on, but it was all Blake had. She sighed again, affixing her mask to the lower half of her face, obscuring her identity. She flung open the doors to the club, walking in. She understandably earned many looks as she walked in, between her revealing attire, the mask on her face, Gambol Shroud attached to her back, and her exposed faunus ears. She made it a few feet into the club before being stopped by a large bouncer in a black and yellow suit.

"What's one of _you_ doin' in my bar, cat?" the bounce snarled.

Blake chuckled. "As if you owned this place. Everyone knows this is Stardust's base of operations. Take me to her."

The bouncer laughed at her. "And what makes you think that the boss'd have time for your faunus ass?"

There was a sound of metal on metal, and the sound of liquid hitting the floor and a man choking followed. Blake quickly replaced Gambol Shroud onto her back, a thin line of blood sliding off of it. The bouncer clutched his freshly slit throat, falling to the ground. Blake looked at the bouncer that had been standing behind him, locking eyes with his terrified expression.

"I think she'll make time, don't you?" she spat, and the other bouncer nervously beckoned for her to follow.

They climbed a staircase at the back of the bar, leading into an office with one-way bay windows overlooking the dancefloor. The room was lavishly decorated, various weapons of what Blake assumed were rival leaders or huntsmen that had tried to stop Stardust sat in display cases next to stocked bookshelves. At the end of the room, was a large desk, a computer on one end of it, and it was covered with papers and documents. Behind the desk was a large, swivel chair, and in it, sat a woman dressed in a yellow leather jacket, black pants over her crossed legs, and black gloves covering the hands that were currently working a video game controller. Her head was obscured by her iconic, lizard-skull like mask, and Blake knew she'd found who she'd come here for.

"Yo, boss," the bouncer nervously stammered, "this faunus chick is, uh, pretty insistent on seeing you."

Stardust sighed, tossing the controller onto her desk. Her voice was modified by her helmet, but her tone was apparent. "That's code for 'she killed a bouncer, and threatened to kill you unless you brought her here', isn't it?"

"Yes," Blake said, "yes it is."

Stardust chuckled, before pulling a handgun out of a drawer in her desk, and pulling the trigger. Blake instinctively prepared her semblance to use a dummy to take the hit, but the hit never came. The head of the bouncer next to her exploded instead, bits of his skull and flesh bouncing off her aura. Blake looked at Stardust with an expression of shock, and the kingpin just chuckled. "Y'know, it's hard to find men that are both strong _and_ loyal. Usually I settle for the latter, but sometimes you can get away with only having the former for gruntwork. Guess I overestimated those two. If anything, I owe you credit for helping me make my staffing a bit better." She tossed the gun onto the desk, and slowly walked in front of it. "So, what brings a _faunus_ to my club at the peak of the White Fang's power, huh? If you killed my boy that easily, you'd make it big there." She noticed Blake's eyes tense at the mention of the White Fang. "Ah, so you've got bad history with 'em. Makes sense. I got a couple of guys like that. We don't discriminate, that's the Fang's MO. But," She tilted her head, looking intently at Blake. "Long, ebony hair, cute little ears, a peculiar weapon on a ribbon, but most interestingly, vibrant amber eyes." She laughed a distorted, digitized laugh. "I have a feeling I know why you're here, and it's not because you've got a resume filled out for the assassin position I put in the Personals."

Blake composed herself after that unnerving profiling, and drew her blade, raising the tip towards Stardust. "I'm looking for someone. She's blonde, with violet eyes. She's…" Blake paused. "She's only got one arm. I'd heard she'd been running with your band. I want answers."

Another grating bout of laughter came from Stardust. "You're looking for _her_ , huh?" She nodded her head to the side, gesturing Blake to look in that direction, and Blake's eyes went wide at the sight. Both gauntlets of Ember Celica sat in one display case, a photo of Yang's face was stabbed through the center to the board behind it with a knife. Blake was suddenly consumed with anger.

"You… _bitch!_ " She fired Gambol Shroud, spinning the blade toward Stardust. " _You killed her!_ " she shrieked, as the sword whistled through the air. Stardust raised her right hand, and caught the weapon mid-flight. Blake's eyes once again bulged in shock.

"Heh, you could say that," Stardust said, before crushing the weapon in her hand, hundreds of pieces of what was once a handgun skittering across the carpet as the blades clattered to the ground around them. Blake was defenseless, she knew she needed to move. She turned around, only to find the only exit from the room was now occupied by a large man with two cybernetic arms, and a large assault rifle resting in his hands, trained right at her. She turned back around eyeing the bay windows. Stardust merely shook her head. "Don't even try. They're bulletproof, let alone you-proof." She chuckled again. "Daemon, take her mask off."

The man with the assault rifle reached for the clasps, but Blake reached back and tore her mask off herself, throwing it to the ground. Her face was one of anger, furious that not only was she standing opposite of Yang's killer, but she couldn't do anything about it. Stardust merely laughed again.

"Blake Belladonna. Welp, that confirms my guess. Would have been awkward if you were someone else, kitten."

"How... how do you know me?"

Stardust merely continued to chuckle as she undid the clasps on the back of her helmet. Blake's expression shifted from anger to shock once more when blonde hair cascaded out of the helmet. Stardust put the helmet on her desk, and Yang was staring back at Blake, a smile on her face and her eyes red as the blood that had dried on Gambol Shroud's broken blade.

"Y-Yang…"

"Hey, I'm glad you recognize me after all this time. At least I know you didn't forget about me entirely after you left."

"Yang, I… how did you…"

"How did I what?" Yang said, her smile fading. "How did I get a new arm? How did I make all this happen? It's amazing how much can happen in 3 years, Blake." She pulled the glove off her right hand, the clawed fingers of her metal hand now visible. "But let me guess what you had planned. You were gonna say something like 'Oh, I ran because I care about you, because I _love_ you, and that was the only way to keep you safe,' eh? You were gonna sit here and beg for my forgiveness?"

Blake opened her mouth to object, but merely hung her head. "Yes. I… I don't expect you to forgive me. I left you when you needed me. I'm sorry."

Yang's fist clenched at Blake's words. "It's a pretty good thing you don't expect that forgiveness, Blake." Yang's expression was unflinching as she met the pain in Blake's eyes. "I don't know what you expected, coming here, maybe some fairy tale ending where we ran off together? What bullshit. What you've got now, is a choice."

"A… choice?" Blake choked out around her tears.

Yang raised her left hand, pulling off the glove to revealing flesh and blood underneath. "Either Red Daemon over there steps aside, and I give you thirty minutes before I slap five million Lien on your head for killing one of my boys. We'll call it repayment for what used to be friendship." Yang said, before raising her prosthetic hand. "Or, you can join up with me. Power Tool can make you a new weapon, and you can start working as my personal hitwoman. You skill would get you far here, and your personal set of skills and knowledge in particular would accelerate my plans quite fast. And who knows? Maybe I won't want you dead after a month or two." She walked past Blake, stopping to the right of her. "I'm confident you'll make the right choice. Like I said, I can't forgive you, Blake," Yang said, putting her right hand on Blake's shoulder. The cold of the metal chilled her to the bone, "But I'm _very_ happy to see you again." She walked past her, and she and Red Daemon exited, leaving Blake in the most haunting silence she'd ever experienced.

"You know, with all due respect," Donovan said, his mind spinning after the draining story, "the more I hear about Yang's past, the more I find it impossible to believe that the Yang I've seen is the same person."

Blake gave a deep sigh. "Honestly, you might be right in that belief. Yang… Yang had lost a lot of people in her life. Her mother, her stepmother, and then even me, when I left after the fall. This was also when public opinion of Yang was at a low, because of what Emerald Sustrai did during the Vytal festival."

"She made her think that her opponent was attacking her, when in reality she simply maimed him, right?"

Blake nodded. "The planet saw Yang as some kind of battle raging monster. I guess…" Blake sighed, it becoming apparent the memories were painful to bring up. "I guess she let the words get to her. She became ruthless, lying and manipulating everyone she knew to get her arm, to get training, money, weapons, until she had enough to betray everyone and become Stardust. She became so isolated, she didn't care about others' well beings anymore, just what they could offer her. She didn't allow herself to form attachments, having been burned one too many times. I've stared down everyone from Adam Taurus to Salem herself, and I've never been more afraid of a person than I was Stardust."

"I hate to keep asking the same question," Donovan said, "but what changed?"

"Yang's always been… _contradictory_. Her words and her actions clashed as often as they lined up." Blake laughed again. "When we were kids, she actually called me a lost cause, you know. Yet, as soon as the next day, we were working together, bettering each other." Blake's smile returned to her face. "She always said she only wanted the adventure, the thrill, that saving people was a side benefit. Yet, when we ran the Dragons, I never saw civilian blood spilled. We even helped out the civilians more often than not, by taking out the gangs with looser moral codes. Yang made herself out to be this heartless, unsympathetic criminal, but in reality she stil had empathy, she still couldn't keep herself from caring.

"It was right after we'd won, when we'd stopped everything. Adam was dead, Yang'd killed Cinder, and Ruby and Jaune finished off Salem to end that nightmare. Yang had always said she would leave after it was done, that Yang'd disappear again, and Stardust would return, but she never did. The helmet was hung up, and we worked without masks. At the end of that 5th year after Beacon, she asked me if I wanted to start again. She said something along the lines of 'Y'know, just us traveling again, doing the whole hero thing? That wasn't half bad'. It took time, of course. Yang still held some animosity, and I still had nerves about what I'd seen her do, but eventually, things changed, almost back to how they were. The puns, the flirting, the smiles, everything. Then came love, marriage, and eventually our beautiful children. It really was the children that did it for Yang, I think. We spent so long living with nothing to lose, that having the kids really put things back into perspective for her. She had things to protect again." Blake made eye contact with Donovan. "Yang is going to be thrilled that you two love each other. She's as happy about how much Amber's gotten better as I am, and that it's someone she knows and trusts that's helping her is going to be even better to her. Just… don't be afraid of her. As long as your intentions are pure, she'll be glad to welcome you into the family." She replaced her hand on top of Donovan's. "And I know your intentions. It will go fine."

Donovan chuckled. "For my sake, I hope so. I'm running out of limbs to lose."

They both enjoyed another bout of laughter, before talking well into the afternoon.

"Your barehanded is getting way better, Al," Jay said as she and Alice walked back to their dorm after a late night training session. "You blend styles fairly well."

"Chalk it up to Oolong's algorithms," Alice said, taking a drink of water from a bottle. "My augments' firmware interprets all the different styles and adapts to my ideas and thoughts on the fly. Of course, I still have to do the footwork, and considering your specialty is footwork, I've got a long way to go."

"It's not like anyone's expecting you to match _me_ in footwork, babe. That's less important for you," Jay said, stretching so her wingtips brushed the walls as they walked. "We've got different jobs. I get the big guys that need beating up, you shoot, well, mostly everyone else. It's a good system."

"True." Alice took another drink, before, remembering something. "Hey, did you want to practice with that sword you've been tinkering with? We _do_ fight tomorrow."

"Heh, like I'm gonna need it against those chumps. That thing's my trump card, babe. Gotta make sure no one's wise to it yet."

"Makes sense," Alice said as they walked through the door. The room was empty, with everything as it had been left. Alice sighed softly with relief. 4 months of wartime paranoia doesn't leave overnight.

"Where are the boys at? They should be home by this point." Jay said, absentmindedly looking around their room, before collapsing face first onto her bed.

"Jahim's training with his older brother out in the Emerald again, and Donovan's in the library doing far more last minute planning than necessary." Alice sat down on her own bed, facing Jay. "Though, from what he said to me about his talk with Blake, I think he's just trying to put off talking to Yang about Am."

"As someone who's traded blows with Yang, Donovan's pretty wise to be avoiding that," Jay chuckled. "Though, if I didn't know you better," she said, turning her head to look at her, "I'd think you've cleared this room for a… _reason_."

"Oh please, Merletta," Alice said. "Though, there is… _one_ thing I wanted to do," she said, reaching under her bed.

"Oh?" Jay said, sitting up at attention just in time to catch a guitar tossed at her from Alice. Her eyes immediately narrowed. "How did you figure out?"

"Amber mentioned it during Nickel Shot Night. She said that you said something like 'And for the record, I can sing. Toss me a guitar sometime. I'll jam on that shit all day,' or something," Alice said, doing a poor impression of Jay.

"Curse blackout drunk Amber," Jay muttered, overdramatically clutching her fist and shaking it in faux anger.

"So, what are you going to serenade me with? A birdsong, perhaps?"

"That's racist," Jay said, both of them laughing. "Y'know, I could… nah."

"What?"

"I don't wanna say it," Jay said, scratching the back of her head. "It's pretty embarassing."

"Well, you _have_ to now," Alice said, laying back onto the bed. "What's so embarassing that _Jay Merletta_ doesn't wanna own up to it?"

"I, uh," Jay stammered, her face turning bright red. "I may have written a song about you, after I, uh, fell in love with you at first."

Alice was quiet for a beat, but then sat back up to face her. "Really?"

"Yeah, though it was pretty sappy. Buncha stuff about you helping me face myself, and wanting to know you better. Even kinda wrote some of the guitar for it," Jay said, shaking her head. "Fuck, I had it _bad_."

"Well, I have to hear it now," Alice said, eagerly sitting up.

"Well, I have to remember it, gimme a sec," Jay said, making sure the guitar was in tune, before strumming a few times to get her pitch. She began playing an upbeat, jangly tune, before she started singing in a lower, almost husky tone.

" _In a while now I will feel better,_

 _I'll face the weather before me._

 _In a while now I'll race the irony,_

 _And buy back each word of my eulogy."_

Alice was impressed with her voice, and enjoyed the heartfelt tone of the song.

" _All the uninvited tragedies,_

 _Step outside~_

 _Ask yourself now,_

 _Where would you be without_

 _Days like this?_

 _When you finally collide_

 _With the moment you can't forget."_

Jay's body shifted slightly, closing her eyes, and her voice picked up tempo and tone. The guitar playing became louder, and more enthusiastic.

" _So do I remind you of_

 _Someone you never met,_

 _A lonely silhouette?_

 _And do I remind you of_

 _Somewhere you wanna be,_

 _So far out of reach?_

 _Oh, I wish you'd open up for me,_

 _Cause I wanna know you,_

 _Amaryllis._

 _Bloom~"_

Alice was caught off guard by the sudden shift in the song, and the power behind it. She felt the passion in Jay's words, and felt herself flush at the realization she was singing about _her_. Jay opened her eyes, and stopped playing, the last note hanging in the air for a while. "There was another verse, I think, but I can't remember it for the life of me," she said, setting the guitar against the bed on the ground. "It wasn't too bad, was it?" Nerves were present in her voice, and Alice couldn't help but smile at how afraid she was of being made fun of.

"It was gorgeous, Jay," Alice said, getting up and sitting next to her, pulling her in close. "You really wrote that?"

"Yeah," Jay said, pulling her girlfriend in tight to try and mask her embarrassment. "I used to do it all the time, back home before…" Jay's tone sombered, her head dipping slightly. "I… Oh, fuck, Alice," She said, before hugging Alice as tight as she could, hiccuping softly into her shoulder. Alice hugged her back, shushing her softly. Jay pulled back, still holding Alice in her arms, and wiped tears out of her eyes. "Sorry, it's just, between talking to Nao and Gloria, and thinking just now, I… I'm remembering too much of home. It hurts, that feeling of being alone, everyone gone."

Alice cupped Jay's face, and took her blindfold off. Thankful the lights were dim, she fluttered open her eyes, and tried her best to lock them with where Jay's were. "You said it to me, that first day. Do you remember what you said?"

"What?" Jay sniffled, a smile forming at the sight of Alice's eyes.

"You told me I don't have to be alone anymore. That we're together now. That goes for you too." She smiled wide, pulling Jay in a little tighter. "I promise, you don't have to think about that anymore. We're partners, in more than one sense, even. I'll be here for you, always."

"You promise?" Jay asked.

"100%" Alice whispered, before closing the distance to Jay's lips.

Jahim's body flopped onto the ground, his rifle clattering against the dirt in front of him in the familiar clearing in the woods. Tahir lowered his fists, scoffing at Jahim as he grunted getting up.

"You've improved noticeably from before you left. Again."

Jahim snapped back into position, anticipating Tahir's strike. Tahir appeared directly behind him, and Jahim blocked the strike to his kidney with a quick turn of his body. He managed to block another three blows before catching a strike to the stomach that sent him stumbling backward. He maintained his footing, and seemed ready to strike himself.

"Impressive. If you can keep up with me, then whatever team you are tasked with defeating tomorrow surely will not be a threat."

"If you're so sure, then why can't I leave yet?"

Tahir froze, looking at Jahim's tired, frustrated expression. "You still have plentiful things to improve upon, to maximize your potential in the semifinal and final rounds."

"I'm not going into those rounds." Jahim said, his tone lessening in aggressiveness.

"You are not? Why not?"

"Alice and Jay are stronger, and work better as a team than I would with any of the three."

Tahir's proud grin morphed into his usual stern frown. "Then we have much to work on, for you to prove your worth to be able to compete over them. Again."

"No."

"What did you say?"

"I don't need this. Donovan's training is focused on what skills I need, this is-"

"This is what you need," Tahir spat. "You can't stand against me. You must increase your strength."

"I'm a marksman, and a swordsman. My strength is fine for my blade. Donovan trains my technique and my aim. All you've done is beat me until it takes less time for me to get up. Jay's the one that would benefit from this, not me."

"That freakish woman is strong, but so undisciplined. She allowed herself to be mortally wounded, just to take a shot."

"A shot that won the war, Tahir. Where did your respect for her go?"

"Irrelevant. She's uncivilized, and is far ahead of where someone of her… person should be." Tahir's expression grew angrier still. "Something you're all too familiar with, no?"

"What are you implying?" Jahim asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Tell me, how did your physical examination go after joining that military force?"

Jahim's eyes shot wide. "It went fine," he growled.

"Is that why your allies got jobs in their specializations, and you were shifted to paperwork? OR was it because the medical examiner had questions you wouldn't answer?"

"I-I'm sure they had legitimate reasons for the assignment," Jahim said, cursing the nervousness in his voice for the stammering. Tahir only chuckled.

"Tell me, do your teammates know?"

"No, and they don't need to!" Jahim shouted, beginning to fall into a panic.

"Why not? Shouldn't your teammates know _exactly_ why you're underperforming?"

"I'm not underperforming! That has nothing to do with my performance!"

"Then prove it to me!" Tahir shouted. "Prove it to me, or I'll inform them all about your little secret. You and I both know what will happen then."

Jahim stepped back, his fear suddenly overwhelming him. He knew that they could never know. They'd kick him out, and send him home. And home meant…

"O-okay," Jahim stammered. "I'll do what you want."

Tahir's grin returned. "Again."

 **/ A/N: The song Jay sings is not my writing. That's Shinedown's 'Amaryllis', and I take 0 credit for it.**


	43. Thrill of the Hunt

The second day of the Vytal tournament was as brutal and sporting as the first, with plenty of expected surprises. Tahir Farid lead team FROH to an easy victory, Gloria's antics ensured her team moved on, and several Vale teams like GRRN earned their way into the doubles round. As the day rolled on, however, SAJJ's match approached, and the team stood in the hallway to the arena, watching the current match from afar. Jahim checked his rifle and ammunition again, ensuring that everything was in it's proper place. Jay was giving Alice the play-by-play on the fight, it being too far for her to see. Donovan paced nervously, prompting Jay to punch him in the shoulder.

"C'mon, Donovan," she said. "You drilled into our heads all those plans of yours. We're fine."

"We can't get complacent now," Donovan said, refusing to stop his pacing. "We must be mentally and physically prepared for anything."

"Fuck, you need to stop talking to Oolong," Jay said, shaking her head. Alice stood up, and put her hand on Donovan's shoulder, stopping him in place.

"Boss, quit fretting," Alice said. "We're ready."

"And now for our next round, Team SAJJ of Nikos versus Team POSN of Vacuo!"

Yang's bombastic announcing was followed by a roaring cheer, and Donovan stood at the edge of the hallway's opening into the arena, Beckoning his team to follow. "I certainly hope so."

"C'mon!" Jay cheered, throwing her arms over Donovan's and Jahim's shoulders. "There's 4 asses to kick out there, and we've got the boots for the job!"

"That's certainly a way of putting it," Alice chuckled, as the group reached the center platform. The four opposite them looked intimidating, at least to Donovan. POSN was a fourth year Shade team, and the group looked grizzled with experience. The leader of the team, which Donovan had made sure to point out beforehand, was a Tall muscular woman with short black hair and deep brown eyes. She was heavily armoured, and she had small mechanical arms connected to what looked like steel panels on her back. The other three members were just as muscular men, one with short blonde hair and two revolver pistols, one that was shorter than the others with a long barreled rifle that had an axe blade at the end, and one with an eyepatch that snapped a whip in his hands. The leader walked forward a few steps, and shouted across the small expanse between them.

"So, this is the famed team SAJJ?" she said, the arms on her back shifting at twitching. Her voice had a thick accent indicative of a life in southern Vacuo. "I must say, the younger huntsmen and huntresses are getting more impressive lookin' every year."

Jay looked over the team, and had a quizzical look on her face. "Wait a second…" she said, before erupting into laughter. "Oh, _fuck_ , it's you guys. Oh my fuck. I can't breathe." She braced herself on Alice's shoulder, heaving as she tried to breathe through her laughter.

"Jay, what are you talking about?" Donovan said, curious at why she was laughing rather than preparing.

"Indeed, what'dya mean?" POSN's leader asked her, crossing her arms. "You sound as if you're familiar with us."

Jay composed herself, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh, yeah," she said, "makes sense you wouldn't recognize me. It _has_ been awhile."

"What do you mean?" POSN's leader asked again, slower.

"Maybe this'll jog your memory," Jay said, snapping her helmet shut, the familiar carving of a bird skull. "You getting anything now?" she said through her voice filter. POSN all went wide eyed.

" _Visage!_ " their leader shouted, immediately ducking into a combat stance, with the rest of her team following suit. "I knew reports on your style rang a bell. Sage," she said, looking at Donovan, "why are you harborin' a vigilante?"

Jay retracted her helmet, chuckling again. "You _do_ know I stood trial right? Innocent of all charges." The leader of POSN growled in response. "Oh, I get it, you're still sore over that time I buried all four of you in a dune, aren't you?"

"Jay, enough," Donovan said. He turned to POSN, and then back to his team as the arena roulette ended, resulting in a dense forest behind SAJJ and a desert with a single, high-topped plateau behind POSN. Donovan spoke softly, so that only his team would hear. "Isolate and Medicate. Solo their leader, Jay."

"Gotcha," she said, snapping her helmet shut again. The gong sounded, and Jay surged forward in a burst of air, tackling POSN's leader before she had a chance to react, and tossing her to the top of the plateau, following her up. The rest of POSN attempted to climb the sheer cliff face to catch her, but were met with gunshots from across the way, the rest of SAJJ having retreated to the trees to provide Jay with covering fire. POSN defended from the fire while looking up to the plateau, and seeing their leader pick herself up to look at Jay.

"A cheap tactic, Visage," she spat. "Honestly, I expected more sophistication from a supposed war heroine."

"Think of it more as a challenge, princess," Jay said, POSN's leader's face wrinkling at the nickname. "A chance for you to get a rematch against little old me."

POSN's leader smirked, before moving the arms on her back. The small appendages arranged the panels on their ends to her flank, and POSN's leader crossed her arms. "Come on."

Jay swung at her opponent's face, only for one of the panels to snap to where her fist was headed. When her hand connected with the panel, a small explosion shot from the panel, knocking Jay's arm backward. POSN's leader seized the opportunity, uniting all six panels into one large rectangle in front of her before surging it forward. The surface collided with Jay, and the explosion knocked her to the ground. As Jay hopped back to her feet, the panels returned to their resting position on the leader's flanks, and she laughed.

"I ain't the same Pamela Sundown you defeated before," she said, smiling wide. "My semblance makes my aura explode in response to physical trauma, and these prosthetics are covered in it. I don't need it on my body, when you can't hit me." Jay tried to strike her, each time her limb recoiling from the explosion that resulted. "If it's on my body, it's so thin that it barely works. But if I focus it to just these limbs, I get some real punch." Pamela sent one panel surging directly into Jay's helmet, staggering her, before striking her with all six again. "In summary, I'm fuckin' invincible."

Jay picked herself back up, and cracked her knuckles through her armour. She readied herself, and smirked under her helmet.

"Alright then," she said, disabling her voice filter, "let's dance!"

The remaining members of POSN had taken cover behind a boulder near the cliff, bullets and dust explosions rocking it back and forth as the three huntsmen behind it tried to think of a plan.

"What do we do, Ford?" asked the shorter huntsman with the longrifle.

"Why do you think I would know?" shouted the bearded huntsman with the whip. "Pamela always had the plans!"

"Well you're the oldest!" the man with the revolvers said.

"Shut the fuck up, Wayne," Ford said, thinking. "We need to get in there and take them out. If we can remove their supporting fire, we can get up there and take out their best fighter, and get Pamela back into the fight. Focus on the two snipers."

"How do we get there, though?" Wayne asked. "Cooper?"

"Leave it to me!" the huntsman with the longrifle said, before peeking over the rock. He fired a shot, reprimed the bolt, and fired again. As the shots traveled, they left a trail of earth dust, which reacted with the ground and each sent diagonal walls upward, forming a tunnel from the rock to the forest. POSN dashed through it, and broke the treeline, finally safe from the high calibre fire from SAJJ's guns.

"Okay, what now Ford?" Cooper said.

"I… I don't know," Ford said, nervously snapping his whip. "The forest isn't that big. We split up and search for them. Three of them, three of us. We each bag one, we're out of here in no time."

The other two nodded, before heading in opposite directions, with Ford continuing straight onward.

Cooper walked slowly forward, aiming his dust rifle at the trees as he nervously snapped to and fro. The sound of a snapping branch made him spin on his heel, and Jahim Farid was suddenly in his sights. He spun his dust rifle toward him, the Bayonet clashing with Jahim's blade.

"Well, shit," Jahim said. "Fucked that one up. I'll make it work though." Cooper was confused, until he saw that Jahim was holding his weapon in an inverse grip, the barrel pointed at Cooper's feet. He tried to jump back, but Jahim pulled the trigger, causing an explosion of ice dust that encased Cooper up to his nose. As the ice traveled upward, it twisted Cooper's weapon out of his hand, whereupon it clattered to the ground. While Cooper was helpless, Jahim picked the rifle up, and inspected it. "Y'know, I just noticed we have pretty similar weapons," he said, taking the rifle in his hands. "It looks like you use bullets over raw dust rounds though. How's the calibre?" Jahim pointed the gun at Cooper's head, prompting muffled shouts of fear as Jahim pulled the trigger, the round impacting his head and encasing the rest of Cooper in ice. "Looks pretty solid," Jahim said, before re-arming his own rifle, and pointing it at Cooper, "but I like mine a bit better." Jahim fired his own rifle, and the earth dust round within shattered Cooper's makeshift prison, carrying him into a nearby tree. The impact incapacitated Cooper, and he was eliminated from the fight. Jahim hopped back into the trees, chuckling to himself. "Top _that_ one, Merletta."

Wayne snapped to attention at the crack of a rifle, followed by what sounded like another one. The shots put the already nervous huntsman on edge, his eyes darting from place to place, trying to catch any sight of _anything_. His attentiveness peaked when he heard another shot, followed by a whizzing sound and a hard _thunk_. A shot had rang out towards him, embedding itself in the tree trunk inches from his head. He turned toward where it came from, and he caught a glint of what he assumed was the shooter. He grinned, and began sprinting in the direction of the glint. He fired several shots in the direction of what he had seen, until he got closer, and stopped dead in his tracks. What he had seen was actually a knife, lodged in a tree and reflecting sunlight from a part in the tree branches. As he stood pondering what he saw, he heard the click of a handgun priming right in his ear. He turned, and saw Alice Tuyet pointing a gun squarely at his head. He looked back at the knife, and noticed a distinct burnmark in the surface, the pieces suddenly falling into place. Alice had ricocheted the bullet off the knife, to give him a false sense of where she was, leading him right into the trap. He felt like he should be afraid, but he was more impressed.

"Nice trick. I may have to steal that."

"I appreciate it," Alice said, before pulling the trigger, knocking Wayne out cold.

Ford heard even more gunshots, and was starting to panic. He was completely unable to see the scoreboard, and the commentators were only talking about Pamela's fight with Visage. He crept through the brush, keeping his attention to the treetops, looking for a sign of life. It was after several minutes that he finally spied something; a crouched figure, holding a rifle, seemingly poised to strike. He was facing away from Ford, no doubt trying to keep watch. Ford readied his whip, and lashed at the figure, wrapping the weapon around the figure's midsection, and yanking them down to the ground. As the body handed, Ford was mortified to see it was Cooper's unconscious form, not one of SAJJ. He heard a rustling from behind him, and before he could turn around, a powerful pair of arms wrapped around his torso and mouth, beginning to suffocate him. He reached up to pry the fingers off his mouth and nose, but found them to be made of unyielding metal. A voice behind him began to speak, a tone low and intimidating.

"Struggle if you wish, you'll only pass out exhausted."

Ford squirmed and shouted muffled shouts as long as he could, until blackness crept into his vision, and he lost consciousness. Donovan dropped Ford's body, and walked past Cooper's meeting with Alice and Jahim, the latter chuckling at his partner's takedown.

"Jeez, Donovan, that seemed a little brutal," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Was that really necessary?"

"It was the most efficient means of a nonlethal takedown. I did what we needed."

Jahim couldn't help but feel creeped out, but brushed it off. It was a topic to save for after the fight was done. They had a plan to finish out, after all.

Jay picked herself back off the ground, panting as she reassumed her combat stance. She glanced at her aura meter, and it sat a hair's breadth from the cutoff point for elimination, while Pamela's sat at a comfortable 65%. Pamela chuckled, her panels retracting back to her sides.

"You got a few cute shots in, but you can't compare to me," Pamela said, shaking her head. "What was the point in singlin' me out? You can't beat me one on one."

Jay once again looked toward the scoreboard, and she began to laugh, a long hearty laugh. Pamela frowned at the noise. "What's got you laughin' again, Visage?"

Jay composed herself, retracting her helmet to expose her grin. "What's funny, is that you think that the reason I brought you up here is to beat you." She pointed up to the scoreboard behind her, where Wayne, Cooper, and Ford's readings all indicated them as eliminated. Pamela gasped, and Jay chuckled again. "Donovan knew by the way your team carried themselves, they way they stood, that they relied on your orders. If I brought you up here, they'd flounder without you, and be easy pickings, which it looks like they were. Donovan read you like a fuckin' book, princess."

Yang and Ruby's jaws dropped in the commentator's booth, both stammering to say something.

"Rubes, you saw SAJJ take them out, right?" Yang asked, "There's no way we missed that!"

"I'm sorry!" Ruby shouted, "But Jay and Pam were so cool and I was getting into it and I just-"

The crowed roared and chanted ' _SAJJ, SAJJ, SAJJ!_ ' as the revelation became prevalent. "You're history!" Pamela snarled, charging at Jay through the red mist of her anger. Jay dodged, and lept from the cliff, running towards the treeline. Pamela followed, pressing her panels to the cliff's face to propel her in front of Jay, standing in between her and the trees.

"Game over, Visage!" Pamela shouted. "I'll take you out here!"

"Unlikely," Jay said, crossing her arms. "Isolate and Medicate's a two step plan, y'know. We isolated you and your friends, so all that leaves is the second part."

"What?" Pamela asked, before the realization hit her far too late. She turned just in time to see Donovan, Jahim, and Alice brandishing their firearms at her from different trajectories. The silence was cut by the sound of rifles being primed and safeties being turned off.

Jay chuckled. "Take your medicine, princess," she said, before the rest of SAJJ unloaded into Pamela. Her defensive matrix of panels attempted to block as much of the fire as she could, but between Donovan's two spear-shotguns, Alice's rapidly changing fire paths, and Jahim's elemental shots, she couldn't hold them for long, and the volley pierced her defenses to remove the rest of her aura. The scoreboard recorded her defeat, and SAJJ were declared the winner.

"What a turnabout!" Yang shouted. "In a secret ploy that no one noticed, the first year SAJJ upsets one of Shade's major frontrunnners!"

"Man, this tournament get wilder every year!" Ruby shouted.

Donovan smiled and waved at the cheering spectators, but inside, he felt something eating at him, something he couldn't place. _Perhaps it's not just the tournament,_ he thought.


	44. Love, War, and Scars

Amber and Donovan stood outside a doorway, the only one on the entire small floor of Nikos' hightower. Amber's hand hovered over it, her fist balled for knocking. The placard on the door read XIAO LONG, and Amber sighed. She turned to Donovan, meeting his eyes.

"You sure you're ready for this?" she asked.

"I talked to Blake yesterday," Donovan said. "I got some… insight on Yang that's made me less pessimistic." He took Amber's right hand in his metallic left. "It'll be fine."

Amber sighed. "If you say so," she said, before knocking on the door a few times. A moment passed, and standing in the opened door was Yang Xiao Long in a casual, orange tank bearing her symbol, and loose fitting sweatpants. Her expression lit up at seeing Amber at the door, prompting her to uncross her arms. The grisly scarring at the stump where her cybernetic arm connected caught Donovan's eye, and he quickly averted his gaze.

"Hey," Yang excitedly shouted, "what's my baby girl doing up here? Not that I mind the company."

"Hello, mom," Amber said, careful not to misspeak Yang's name. "May we come in? We have some things to talk about with you."

"Yeah, yeah come in!" Yang said, leading them into her living room. Amber and Donovan sat on the sofa, while Yang moved into the nearby kitchen.

"You kids want anything to drink?" She asked, bringing an expensive bottle of liquor from the top shelf down to the counter. "I've got some of the good stuff here. Not even Porfirio gets my personal stash of this stuff."

"I'll have a glass of tea, if putting water on isn't too much trouble," Donovan said.

"Please," Yang said pulling a kettle out and filling it with water. "You _do_ know who's home you're in, right Sage?" Yang didn't put the kettle on the stove, rather she held it just above her hand. Donovan turned to face the kitchen at the sound of the kettle screeching, but found that Yang's palm was engulfed in flame, and that fire had heated the water to temperature. She poured the water into a mug, adding a tea bag, and handed it to Donovan. "There you go, champ. Blake'll have my other hand for using one of her favourite makes, but I'll take the flak for it." She walked back into the kitchen. "You want anything, honey?"

"Some of that liquor, please," Amber said, earning a sarcastic glare from Donovan.

"Hey, there's my baby girl," Yang said, walking back over to the living room and handing Amber a glass of clear liquid, holding one herself as she sat in her recliner. "There's some parts of the Xiao Long genes you can't get rid of, no matter the horseshit that happens. A love for the drink being one of them," Yang said, taking a drink of her liquor.

"Perhaps it's not my place," Donovan said, sipping his tea and noticing how good it was, "but how can you condone Porfirio's habit? It's frankly worrying."

"I've tried, kid, I've tried," Yang sighed, smiling as she shook her head. "That boy'll find his way to a bottle if you put him in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, Vacuo. Which is a nice place this time of year, I hear." She snickered at her own joke. "It's really something he has to deal with on his own, or maybe with you all. Of my many regrets as a mother, pretty high up there is not catching the signs earlier. The kid's worse than my uncle was." Yang took another drink. "But, I'm sure you aren't spending your valuable recovery period after those brutal matches in my home to hear about my failures as a mom. Though," she said, locking eyes with Donovan, "I think I know the reason."

Donovan sighed. "Mrs. Xiao Long-"

"Gah, do _not_ call me that please," Yang said with a gag. "I already found a grey hair this morning. I _really_ do not need to feel any older today. We're friends here, Sage. Call me Yang."

"Yang," Donovan corrected, "Amber and I are…"

'We're together," Amber stated sternly, again taking Donovan's metal hand in her right.

"Oh yeah, what a twist," Yang said, taking another drink. "Isn't like I saw you two make out on the airdocks or anything." She chuckled again. "How long?"

"About four months, counting the time I was away." Donovan said.

"Considering you two are here together, I'd say it counts." Yang took another long drink. "Wait, you two haven't fucked yet, have you?"

Donovan and Amber both immediately went red. "N-no!" both stammered in unison, to the sound of Yang's manic laughter. She wiped tears from her face, trying to compose herself.

"Oh fuck, you should have seen the looks on your faces!" Yang said, shaking her head. "Oh, man, that was almost as good as when I talked to Weiss and Rubes. Boy, _that_ was a show."

"So… you're not disapproving?" Donovan asked, the blood slowly leaving his face. Yang chuckled and shook her head again.

"I'll admit, if we were having this conversation 3 months ago, I'd probably have bought a shotgun just to be polishing it when you walked in. Though, to be honest," Yang said, taking another drink, "after what I saw today, I really doubt that'd work. My point is, I've been watching you two since then, and I'm impressed at what I've seen. Your relationship is, well, great. You're both happy and supportive of each other, and isn't that all you can ask for as a parent?" She smiled, and Donovan and Amber smiled back. "Plus, my wife seems to think you're alright, Sage, and I tend to value her opinion pretty highly, on everything but jokes and alcohol. Seriously, the woman's no fun sometimes." She finished her drink, standing and stretching. "Donovan, can I talk to my daughter alone for a little while?"

"Of course," Donovan said, standing from the couch. "I'll be outside."

"We'll just be a minute," Yang said, walking over to the kitchen and getting another glass of liquor for her and Amber as Donovan left the room. She sat down as the door clicked shut, handing the fresh glass to her daughter.

"You know, maybe Donovan has a point about you condoning alcoholism," Amber said, taking a drink.

"I'm the first to admit, I was a pretty shit parent," Yang said, taking another drink. "I suppose that's what you get when you have a professional assassin for a wife, and are a crimelord yourself. Don't exactly make for the best caretakers."

"Well, I'm not exactly the best judge," Amber said. "Though you can't be all bad if Blake agreed to settle down with you."

"Man, did that take awhile. A full 2 years of being her terrifying boss, and a further year of war before I forgave _her_. Fuck, was that a bad time." Yang sighed, tanking another long drink. "Man, I'm really glad I had you and P, you know. If I hadn't, I'd probably still be in that bar, plotting how to take down the Hunt."

"I don't know, I've never seen you fight, let alone how you were before, y'know," Amber said. "Though the consensus is that you weren't all that great a person."

"For once the public gets something right about Yang Xiao Long!" Yang shouted, raising her glass in the air. "That's rarer than an aquatic grimm, man." The two laughed, and Yang smiled at her daughter. "Y'know, you landed a real catch."

"Hm?" Amber asked through her mouthful of liquor. "You mean that?"

"Of course," Yang said, dismissively waving her hand. "Amber, I'm not gonna pretend that I know what a healthy relationship is, because fuck if Blake and I's was. I was cruel, I hated her, and I wanted her dead more than anything in the world those first five years. She had every right in the world to believe I didn't want to change, and honestly, in retrospect, I really don't think she should have taken the chance, knowing what she knew. I got lucky, but it doesn't excuse what I did."

Amber's eyes were wide as she finished her second drink. "Jeez, that's just…"

"Awful," Yang finished, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "The point of me regaling you with my tales of being an awful person is that I was so damned scared that you were headed down the same road."

"Me?" Amber asked, shock moving over her face.

"I mean, the signs were all there. You were jaded as all fuck from your time as a fighter, you put on the tough woman persona on the outside, which let's be honest _is_ a persona, you're a total mom friend," Amber glowered at Yang, her lips pursed and eyes narrowed. "Oh come on," Yang continued, "we both know you're a total creampuff. I've seen you with that boy."

Amber just shook her head, looking at the ground with a sigh. "You were saying?"

"Oh yeah," Yang said with a chuckle. "Basically, you were set to be me version two, only taller and stronger, and with cute little kitty ears. Only, you didn't make the same mistake I did. You chose to let people in. You didn't stay trapped in your own head so long that you just became a nasty person like I did, you let Donovan get you out of there. And it's not one way, I can feel it. You two are bettering each other, and that's all I've ever wanted for you." She got up, and sat next to Amber, putting her hand on her shoulder. "All I wanted was for my children to not have to live like me, hating themselves and everyone else. And seeing you with him, that's the life I envisioned for you."

Amber pulled Yang into a hug, surprising the older woman. Amber's powerful arms held her tight, the faunus sniffling as she welled up. "Thank you, mom. Thank you so much."

"Aw shit, you're gonna make me cry," Yang said, returning the embrace. She pulled back, smiling at her daughter, and enjoying the rare sight of Amber's own smile. "I know I kinda just spent the past like, 20 minutes telling you that I'm like, the worst person you know, but remember that I'm here for you, okay. You need a pair of bison faunus kneecaps, broken? I happen to know a few guys."

"Mom, you're ruining the moment." Amber said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, chalk it up to the aforementioned idea that I'm the worst person you know." Yang shook her head. "Just one more thing, Amber."

"Sure."

"Have… have you told him? About, y'know…"

Amber's eyes went wide, and she shook her head.

"Amber," Yang said, "do you think that you two can go for the long haul? Marriage, giving me cute grandkids, everything?"

Amber hesitated, but nodded her head. "I do."

"Then you're going to have to tell him eventually. He deserves to know."

"I know, I'm just… scared," Amber said.

"That boy loves you like Porfirio loves liquor. If that's enough to drive you apart, I'll make his narrow little ass into a coatrack."

"Mom, please stop threatening to taxidermy my boyfriend."

Yang laughed, and patted Amber's shoulder. "Glad to see that didn't kill your sense of humour." She stood up. "You two should probably be heading out, it's getting late. You've got some planning to do for tomorrow's matches. Especially you, considering you're participating."

Amber nodded her head, walking to the door.

"Again, honey, you need anything, I've got a criminal syndicate at my metal fingertips, k? Fear no man, woman, or anything inbetween."

"Of course, though I'm not to big on calling in the mob to solve my problems when I'm this much stronger than you," Amber said with a flex of her arms.

"Oh, a challenge is it?" Yang said, flexing her own. The two locked eyes in their contest, before Yang snorted, and the two dissolved into giggles. Amber opened the door, hugging Donovan as he approached. The two started down the hall, Yang waving to them as they walked to the elevator. "Make sure to invite me to the wedding! I prefer chicken over fish!"

Amber stuck her tongue out at her mother as the elevator doors closed. She took hold of Donovan's metal hand, smiling wide. She always made sure to hold Donovan's prosthetic, after she caught him staring at it over the week after he returned. She wanted him to know it was as much a part of him as everything else.

"So, what did your mother say?" Donovan asked.

Amber smiled, tightening her grip. "That she was proud of me, and that she loved seeing us together."

Donovan smiled, even snickering. "That doesn't sound much like the Yang Xiao Long I know."

"Well, she _did_ threaten to turn you into a coatrack."

Amber was surprised as Donovan let out a rare, hearty laugh. The sound made her flush slightly, she having forgotten how cute he could be. "That's more like it."

The gym was filled with the sound of impacts and grunts, Donovan and Amber standing on mats in the center of the large room trading blows in hand to hand training. Donovan's powerful Southpaw technique was proving effective against Amber's more hold focused style, interrupting any advances she made with quick jabs before using his metal limb for a brutal cross that would stagger her. Normally, this would be enough, with perhaps a few changeups, but Amber's tenacity and endurance was far higher than others Donovan had attempted to fight, and her style was entirely free and unique, nothing Donovan had ever studied. Amber went low, and Donovan shot a jab, anticipating a shoulder charge out of desperation. Amber instead shifted back slightly, and swung her arm, striking the right side of Donovan's head with the side of her flattened hand in a lateral slash. Amber took the opportunity to strike Donovan's abdomen, grabbing both sides of his torso as he doubled over. She jumped into the air, and brought Donovan down onto his neck, dropping his body to the ground. He groaned as he pushed himself off the mat, taking Amber's offered hand to help himself up.

"Was it entirely necessary to do that?" Donovan said, rubbing his neck. "I know my neck is mechanized and won't break, but it still was perhaps a bit too intense. That may kill someone who isn't augmented."

Amber nodded, chuckling slightly. "I dunno if you're one to talk. You kinda choked someone out earlier today."

Donovan sighed, stretching his arms above his head before closing his eyes. "That was… different. It was measured and controlled, I know exactly how long the standard adult male can be suffocated before non-lethal incapacitation occurs."

"Uh huh," Amber said, tilting her head. "And how exactly… _do_ you know that?"

"Some things don't stay behind on the warzone," Donovan said, turning from her before peeling off his sweat-stained workout shirt. Amber blushed slightly as she stared at his scarred back, looking at where the metal met flesh. Donovan didn't wear synthetic flesh aside from on his face and neck, so the scarring from his procedure was very visible, dividing strong metal from toned muscles. He dropped the shirt into the bag behind him before grabbing a bottle of water, taking a drink from it before turning back to her. She couldn't move her eyes away, the muscles and scars on his torso stealing her gaze until Donovan cleared his throat. "You seem… distracted."

"Wha-what? No…" Amber said, shaking her head and looking back at Donovan. She found her gaze wandering to his chest again, and she shook her head more violently. "Okay, you caught me," she sighed. "I just… I hadn't gotten to see you after… y'know."

Donovan smirked. "I can see that you're not averse to it." He put a clean shirt on, before shouldering his bag. Amber took her own, and began walking with him out of the room and towards their own dorms. When they reached their dorms, Amber turned to Donovan.

"Hey, can you come in for a little bit?" she said. "The others are all out for the evening, and I kinda want to talk to you."

"Sure," Donovan said, somewhat surprised. He walked into the room, sitting on a bed while Amber closed the door, locking it shut. He looked at her tense expression as she sat, and shook his head. "This is about the war, isn't it?"

Amber tried to smile. "I figured that as long as we're having these talks we've been avoiding, we should have this one."

Donovan sighed. "Why do you want to know about it?" he said. "It wasn't… it was hard." His gaze moved to his arm, and Amber caught it.

"Do you… hate it?" she said. "Do you hate having your cybernetics?"

Donovan balled his metal hand into a fist, closing his eyes. "It scares me. It scares me so much. It's a reminder of… something I'd rather forget."

Amber stood up from her own bed, and sat next to Donovan's cybernetic half. "The war?"

"No, no I don't think I'd ever want to forget the war." Donovan brought both his hands next to each other, looking at the differences. "If I forgot the war, I don't know what I would think of myself. Especially after today."

"You're still bothered about suffocating that guy," Amber said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm bothered about all of it!" Donovan snapped, bringing his fist down on the bed. "All of us, we fought like fucking soldiers! Like they were the same people we had been killing for months! We fought them like we were predators, and they were prey. Like we were hunters laying traps for _beasts_ . What…" he said, his voice lowering. He sniffed, tears beginning to fall from his right eye. "That war took so much from me. My body, my eye, my _peace_ ." He choked on a sob, pressing his right hand to his eye to stifle the tears. "It even turned us into… into _monsters_ . I can't think about fighting, or strategy, or anything without those… _awful_ thoughts creeping in. I see them fight, and they display such… _brutality_ ." He collapsed into her shoulders, Amber taken aback by the sight of Donovan so broken down again. She wrapped her arms around him, rubbing his back as he cried into her shoulder. "How… how can I look at myself anymore? I look in the mirror, and see someone who's killed, and killed, and _killed_. I can't stop seeing the blood I washed off of my hands so many times. How do I separate myself from this monster?"

Amber had no idea how to respond. It was an issue she had grappled with herself. She looked down, and saw herself in her own arms; a scared child, so thoroughly ruined by the horrors of what they'd done that they were unsure if they were even a person anymore. He heart shattered, and she tightened her grip around him. "I… I don't know, Donovan. War takes us, and it just tears our humanity out. It makes us into machines, machines that eat orders and cough up results. I still see all the people I hurt, all the people I killed. When… when it's quiet, sometimes I hear them screaming, begging for their lives before I cleaved them in two. I smell the embers of the villages I burned to the ground. When I dream, I see the lives of people I killed lived out, being forced to witness futures I stole. Sometimes it's my own." She pulled him even closer in, sniffling as she began to cry herself. "I don't know what to do either, Donovan. I don't know how to make it go away. I don't think it does. We just have to do our jobs. We have to make sure other people don't have to be like us. We have to live through it for them, for the people who can't and shouldn't have to understand. We have to survive, so they can live. Maybe if we try hard enough, we can live too. Not like before, but we can live."

Donovan pulled back, just far enough to look Amber in the eye while remaining in her arms. She smiled, and the sight brought a smile to his own face. Neither of them was sure who moved first, only that the distance between them was closed, a kiss breaking them from the shackles of their minds for a moment. Amber broke away, her eyes opening to look at Donovan as her heart pounded in her chest. She knew something was different.

"The others are going to be gone all night, you know," she said, blush creeping onto her face. "Gloria and Nao's teams rented the penthouse at some fancy hotel, and Sienna and Porfirio went with Alice and Jay, and Nero's out with Jahim all night."

":Why do you mention… _oh_ ," Donovan said, the pieces falling into place. He looked at her, worry on his face. "Are you sure… after everything we talked about tonight…." Amber nodded. Donovan swallowed, and returned the nod. "Okay."

It would be late in the evening before Jahim and Nero would return to the dormintory hall, full from the dinner they had shared. Jahim decided to check his scroll, to make sure he hadn't missed any messages, and was surprised to find that he had one from Amber, of all people. "Why is your team leader texting me?" he said to Nero with a chuckle. He opened it, and immediately went wide eyed. "Oh, oh shit."

"What?" Nero asked, peering over to see what was on Jahim's phone. Jahim quickly powered it off, and slipped it into his pocket. "What was it?"

"Eh-I-uh…" Jahim stammered, before sighing. "You're probably gonna wanna sleep in our dorm tonight. The other beds are unoccupied, it shouldn't be a hassle."

"Okay," Nero said, "but why would a text from Am tell you that? And isn't Donov-" Nero stopped dead in his tracks, the stars in his head aligning. "You're fucking with me."

Jahim sighed. "Let's just go to sleep so I can hopefully forget about this in the morning."

Nero wandered into the room, and beelined for the fridge, pulling out one of Jay's liquor bottles. "You know, I think I finally understand Porfirio."

"I think so too," Jahim said, taking a large glass of the liquid.

The two would black out around halfway through the bottle, neither ending up in a bed before they passed out.


	45. Double Dragon

The crowd occupying the Vytal stadium once again roared in excitement, as Jay and Alice strode back onto the now familiar center platform. Jay raised her hand in a fist pump, prompting many of the people in the stands to do the same while cheering even harder. Jay elbowed Alice with a smile.

"They're all doing it, babe," she said with a laugh. "I might make this a thing." She looked around the crowd, smiling as she surveyed the audience there to see them. "There's a few people with SAJJ signs. Oh, there's one of your headshot and hearts around it. Remind me to find that guy later." Alice giggled, bringing a slight flush to Jay's cheeks. "Oh shit, there's a fucking cosplayer of me in the fourth row over there," she said, pointing to the person, their face done up to look scarred as Jay's is, and wearing a replication of the Transcendence suit.. "Does that mean I've made it?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Alice said, now full blown laughing.

"Fuck, she looks good. The scar makeup is pretty spot on. I wonder if that's real metal for the suit, too. Probably not, it'd be too heavy for someone of that size to tote around all day."

"Okay, okay," Alice said, composing herself. "Stop nerding out and focus, We've got a match to win."

"Alright," Jay said, spreading her arms and letting her suit envelop her. The crowd roared, and again did Jay's fistpump gesture. "They're doing it again, Al. I've definitely made it a thing."

"You seem to be a crowd favourite," Alice said, her usual coyness apparent in her tone as she drew her two standard handcannons. "I wonder how many of them are smitten with my giant woman."

"If you could see my face, you'd know that's probably a fat 0," Jay said. "Well, 1, but you don't count. Also, you're not fat."

Alice chuckled, shaking her head. "If only someone had told me I'd be dating a cartoon."

"Aw, you've never even seen a cartoon," Jay said, as the doors of the opponent's waiting room slammed open, and their foes began to walk out. From the dark room strode Ryōjin and Ryuuga Aoi, the twin brothers of team GRRN. Ryōjin's signature yellow robes and sandals hadn't changed one bit, and neither had his bright green hair cut so short Jay wondered if he trimmed it daily. His two blades also looked the same, his shorter sword resting across the small of his back, and his long Odachi at his shoulder. His brother, Ryuuga, had a far grumpier expression than his brother's smile. He wore his longer, black hair loose, and around his head. His right arm was heavily armoured, a long, curved sword extending out from his wrist and ending several inches over his shoulder. His other arm, while still in the leather armour he wore across all of his torso, it lacked any of the metal that adorned his right. His pants were similarly free of inhibiting metal. Jay walked up to Ryōjin, taking his outstretched hand in her own for a powerful shake.

"Hey, it's the Dragonbros," she said, releasing the handshake. "Good to see you both."

"Likewise, Merletta," Ryōjin said, smirking. "It feels like an eternity since our duel the first day of class, doesn't it?"

Jay chuckled. "Yeah, yeah it does."

"If you two are done fraternizing," Ryuuga spat, "Prepare yourselves. The battle begins shortly."

Ryōjin frowned at his brother, before smiling back at his opponents. "Your showing in the first round _does_ warrant caution. You've improved since our last fight."

"I hope you have too," Jay said with a smirk. "I'd hate for it to end like our first fight."

Ryōjin merely chuckled, while Ryuuga readied himself, bringing the blade on his arm to a striking position. Ryōjin followed suit, his hand on his smaller blade, and the girls followed suit. They stood in brief silence, until a ruined city and high cliff face appeared around them, and the gong pierced the air, prompting the four to leap into action. Ryuuga shouted as he lept at Alice, bringing his wristblade down in a sweeping slash that glanced off one of her handcannons. She returned a shot at him, which whisled past his head as he mounted a circular pattern of assault, rotating his body to make optimal strikes with his blade and hands. Alice and Ryuuga reached a point of consistent strikes and parries, a gunshot and sound of metal on metal occasionally breaking through their chorus of shouts and grunts. Alice eventually holstered the handcannon in her right hand after one block, before reaching behind her back. She rotated while taking a step backward, leveling _A Huntress Named…_ at Ryuuga's chest.

"Back off!" she shouted, before pulling the trigger. The gunshot roared louder than anything Ryuuga had ever heard, and the bullet slammed into his chest, carrying him backward into the cliff face thirty feet behind him before violently exploding. Ryuuga peeled himself off the wall, before glancing at his aura meter. His eyes bulged at the reading, a single blow having shaved off 70% of his aura. Another hit like that, and he was done for sure. He turned to Alice and saw her reloading the weapon that had hit him. He stuck out his arm, and the blade on his wrist split down the middle, before folding outward, each long half curving from the edges of his wrist. He closed his eyes, and breathed deeply, before opening them. His eyes glowed a fierce blue, and a thin bolt of lightning stretched from the tip of one blade to the other, forming a bow from the sword. He raised his hand to the string, before pulling it back. As he did, an arrow of the same blue energy as the string manifested in his grip. He let the string go, and the arrow surged, striking the weapon and knocking it out of Alice's hands, the pistol clattering to the ground in the ruined city sector.

"Ugh, this again?" Alice said, upset at seeing this power already.

"Ryuuga's activated his semblance!" Yang shouted. "Ryuuga and his brother share the same semblance, channeling energy into their weapons to give them new power!"

"You'll regret that, cybrid," Ryuuga shouted, before loosing his arrow.

Ryōjin ducked and rolled away from Jay's strikes, occasionally attempting to strike with his shortsword, to no avail.

"We both know this isn't gonna go anywhere," Jay said, blocking another slash. "C'mon, fire it up. I want a good fight."

Ryōjin chuckled, before sheathing his blade. He brought his hands together, and closed his eyes, breathing deeply just as his brother did. He opened his eyes, a green glow coating the organs, and green shuriken appeared between his fingers. He grinned, before lobbing the handful at Jay, the projectiles bouncing off of her quickly-deployed barrier.

"Now that's more like it!" she shouted, before leaping into a flying knee aimed at Ryōjin's face. He ducked the attack, and Jay landed behind him, pivoting her body into a roundhouse kick that connected with the back of Ryōjin's head. Ryōjin jumped to his feet, throwing volleys of shuriken at her as he leapt and kicked at her. Even Jay's defense was not enough, and she found several blows make it past her defenses and knock her to the ground. She spun to her feet, and smiled, before snapping her helmet shut. "Okay, let's dance!" she shouted, diving at Ryōjin.

Ryuuga's arrows whistled as they flew, Alice attempting to advance on his position as he shot volley after volley at her. She used her handcannons to shoot the arrows out of the air as they neared her, but Ryuuga's firing rate was too high for even her aim to match, leading to several shots lodging themselves in her aura, the heads buried in the plate metal of her arms. When she reached her position, Ryuuga pointed his bow at the ground, and fired an arrow that exploded as it hit the stone floor. He used the cover of the explosion to leap backward, and into the air, firing arrows as he flew. Alice returned fire, before looking at his flight path and smirking. She shifted her aim, and fired at the last arrow Ryuuga shot. The bullet glanced off the head, and ricocheted into Ryuuga's forehead, knocking off his rhythm and sending him tumbling to the ground. He picked himself up off the ground, and angrily looked at hia aura meter. It sat at 16%, a single hit from elimination. His gaze turned to Alice, and the woman, being unable to read his seething expression, spoke sarcastically.

"Such grace, Aoi. 10's across the board. The judges love you."

"Enough of your foolishness! You need to be taught a lesson!" Ryuuga roared, before raising his hand. Ryōjin snapped to him, stopping his advance on Jay.

"Brother, wait!"

Ryuuga paid no heed as he screamed, reuniting his blade and slashing at Alice, who blocked it effortlessly with her guns. Alice's attention turned to Ryuuga's still raised hand, which closed into a fist. When it did, the arrows in her arms detonated like the one he had fired at the ground. Alice watched in horror as her prosthetics were torn to pieces. As the blade fell toward her, she spied one of her daggers falling from the air, having been blown upward by the attack. She lunged forward, catching the knife in her teeth before raking the blade across Ryuuga's face. She landed past him, as he collapsed to his knees.

"Ryuuga is eliminated in a last ditch strike from Alice!" Ruby shouted from the booth. "What an incredible display!"

Ryōjin and Jay fully ceased their fighting to run to Alice, and both were frantically checking her.

"Are you okay?" Ryōjin asked, kneeling in front of her.

"I'm fine," Alice sighed. "Jay, I'm fine," she insisted as the larger woman inspected her ports.

"No damage past the arms, she's okay." Jay sighed, before hugging Alice. "Stay put, alright? I don't want you getting hurt."

"Wasn't planning on it," Alice said with a smile, recieving one in return from Jay. Jay kissed her forehead, before looking to Ryōjin.

"Shall we finish this?" she asked, standing and beginning to walk to the center arena.

"Yes, Ryuuga will need a talking to after this showing, and the sooner I beat you, the sooner he can be taught his lesson."

"You people and lessons," Jay said, before stopping opposite Ryōjin on the center platform. "C'mon. It's final gambit time."

"Indeed it is," Ryōjin said, before reaching over his shoulder, and gripping the handle of his larger sword. He pulled it from its scabbard, and the long blade began to glow. Jay, on the other side of the platform, adopted a different stance than what she had previously. One of her legs was raised off the ground, and her arms were more tucked in than in her previous stance.

"You're switching styles?" Ryōjin asked.

"The last one was barely breaking even" Jay said, cracking her neck. "If I wanna beat your sword without you making mistakes, I need an ace in the hole.

There was a moment of silence, a pause that felt as if it lasted an eternity. Ryōjin suddenly dashed forward, delivering a sweeping slice that Jay knocked off target with a slight kick from her raised leg. She fully extended the limb, connecting with Ryōjin's face before using the foothold as leverage, pushing off his head before front flipping in the air to bring her heel down onto him. Ryōjin blocked the strike, using the opening to slash at the gap in Jay's plating on her midsection, knocking her back.

"You've patched many of your holes," Ryōjin stated, seemingly impressed. "Finding gaps to strike is harder. Not impossible, just harder."

"Your reaction time isn't shit anymore either," Jay said, before lunging forward in another somersault kick. When Ryōjin blocked this attempt, she lept off the blade, before using air dust and her wings to immediately send her surging back downward in a divekick before Ryōjin could raise his weapon again. Ryōjin retaliated with several more strikes, some Jay deflected, and others she could not, leading to large losses in her aura. They traded blows for what seemed like minutes on end, seemingly equally matched, with Jay's new acrobatic style able to abuse gaps in Ryōjin's defense, while his blade removed chunks of aura in a single strike, meaning Jay had to do so much more to gain ground. As she parried another strike, she knew that she had to think of another way to beat him. _C'mon, think! The sword is too strong, it's his offense, defense… wait, that's it!_ Jay raised her left hand to block an incoming strike, but stopped her arm just short. Ryōjin thought he would land a finishing strike, but was surprised when his sword became lodged in Jay's Hard-Light barrier. She grinned from behind it, before raising her arm over her head, and slamming Ryōjin down to the ground. She then flung her arm back upwards again, and Ryōjin lost his grip, flying into the air without his blade. Jay immediately dropped the shield, before boosting herself into the sky. She used the momentum from her dust's propulsion to drive her elbow into the airborne Ryōjin, before rotating her body to deliver several more strikes. As her momentum finally died, and Ryōjin flew upward from the last strike, Jay flapped her wings, and surged her knee upward directly into the bridge of Ryōjin's nose. He fell to the ground, unconcious, and eliminated, and Jay landed behind him, to the roar of the crowd. She once again raised her fist into the air, and as she looked around, she didn't think she saw a single person not doing it.

"Incredible!" Yang shouted over the loudspeaker. "With a stunning final duel, Jay cinches team SAJJ's spot in the finals!"

Jay walked over to Alice, picking her up in a bridal carry. "You know," Jay said, "I'm really not looking forward to having to put you back together for the second time in a week."

Alice allowed herself to be lifted, before smiling. "I'm just glad I get to spend more time with you," she said.

'No offense, but can you save the mushy stuff until after I come down from whatever adrenaline high allowed me to pull that shit off?"

'Fair enough," Alice said with a giggle. "What do you even call that, anyway?"

"I dunno, I made it up on the spot. Do hand-to-hand attacks usually have names?" The response prompted another giggle from Alice. "I dunno, I really doubt I'll ever manage that again. Call it the Revolver, cause there were 6 hits maybe?"

Alice shrugged what little of her shoulders she had left. "Sounds good enough."

The two dissolved into laughter as they exited the stadium to riotous applause and cheers, a new crowd hero having been born.


	46. Spite and Venom

A wet slap attempted to cut through the roar of the torrential rainfall as Jahim's body slammed into the mud yet again. As he shakily attempted to stand, he was kicked in the gut, and rolled backward several feet until he hit the base of a tree. Tahir stood opposite him, his arms folded and his stare wrathful. Despite standing directly in the rainfall, Tahir was entirely dry, and he remained so as he advanced on Jahim.

"Pitiful. You cannot even stand," Tahir spat, yanking Jahim to his feet by his hair. "Get up. Fight."

"I...I…" Jahim groaned, blood trailing from his mouth.

"You what? You can't fight?" Tahir tightened his grip on Jahim's hair before throwing him by it back out into the center of the clearing in the Emerald they trained in. "A lie. You have been trained by the strongest warrior on Remnant, I. Your bloodline is one of the proudest warriors history has ever seen. You can fight. You're just choosing not to." As Jahim attempted to stand, Tahir stomped his face into the mud. "You were given this chance by my generosity. You heard my ultimatums and decrees. Yet even still, after all these failures, you would dare defy me?" A small grin appeared below Tahir's facial hair. "You remember what is at stake, do you not? Get up."

Jahim stood, his beaten legs barely able to support him after the 'training' they had been doing all evening. He knew almost all of his ribs were cracked or broken; Tahir loved punishing him there, and tonight had been little, if anything, but punishment. Jahim swung at Tahir, and was almost unsurprised when Tahir caught the lazy strike and kicked him in the chest again, knocking him back to the mud. He felt his bones creak as he tried to stand again, Tahir again folding his arms in disapproval.

"What a pitiful… _creature_ you've become. You've failed me in almost every way you could have."

"I've… been doing ev-" Jahim sharply gasped as pain surged through his chest. "-everything you asked me…"

"And yet, your team saw fit to prefer those two over you. Two practitioners of such… _uncouth_ technique, beastly women with no regard for their proper form." He scoffed. "A running theme for your pitiful existence, isn't it?" He hoisted Jahim into the air by his drenched shirt, Jahim struggling to command his pain-filled neck to look at him. " _My_ technique, my teachings, both have been refined and perfected over centuries. They are the apex of combat, unbeatable, infallible styles that guarantee victory for those who dedicate themselves to the craft. Yet, _you_ choose to pollute it with the teachings of those beast women you call teammates, to pollute your solemn mind with their illusions of false grandeur. And for what, friendship? A falsehood. When you have lived as a mighty Elder Serpent as I have, the opinion of mere garden snakes is like rain falling on a shingle roof. A pleasant distraction, but just that, a distraction." Tahir wound back, and struck Jahim's abdomen, sending a cough of phlegm and blood spurting from his mouth. "You chose the path of a warrior. I gave you a gracious chance, the opportunity to become as strong as I am, an honour normally reserved for one man in a generation. And yet, in all your tenacity in other things, you lack any and all drive to repay what is deserved to me. You take my lessons, and yet refuse to give me the results deserving of such a gift. It takes someone particularly dedicated to wasting potential to take even _my_ craft and remain a weak, pathetic wretch. It's no wonder that faunus girl abandoned you for the bison. Even she can sniff out worthlessness."

"That's…"

"Hey, everything okay out here?"

The third, unexpected voice cut the tension like a sword, and Tahir and Jahim both snapped their attention to the small opening that lead to the clearing. In it stood Nero, underneath a wide-brimmed black umbrella. "You two cold? It's fuckin' pouring out here." he said.

"We were merely training," Tahir said, his voice an entirely different tenor from when he was speaking just a moment prior. "This is a private session between my brother and I. I would ask that you leave us, if you could, Mr. Rose."

"Please, Mr. Rose is my non-existent father," Nero said with a chuckle. "And I'd love to, but Donovan wanted Jahim for something, and it's pretty urgent."

"I see," Tahir said, placing Jahim back on his feet. "We can end early, in that case. I apologize for inconveniencing Mr. Sage. Give him, as well as your own leader my regards." He turned to Jahim, looking him in the eye. His voice may have changed, but the intense fury behind his stare pierced Jahim truer than any blade or arrow. "You are dismissed." He turned back to Nero. "Ensure he visits the infirmary. An Ursa ambushed while we were training, and Jahim was caught by it. He trained on even after. A source of pride for me, among many of them in my brother's storied catalogue of achievements."

Jahim reached the umbrella, and collapsed onto Nero's shoulder, barely able to keep himself aloft anymore. Nero waved as they both turned around, and began walking back. After they had gotten a suitable distance away, Jahim stumbled, unable to even walk anymore. Nero tucked the umbrella into his jacket, before hoisting Jahim up into both arms, the taller boy's arms weakly draped around his neck.

"T-thank you…" Jahim muttered under his breath.

"You're welcome, Ja-" When Nero looked toward Jahim, he found him to be completely unconscious. His blood running cold, he picked up the pace towards the school.

The world faded in for Jahim slowly, his eyes flinching and blinking after being exposed to the light they had been hiding from for apparently some time, given the pain it brought. He tried to remember, where he was, what happened, anything. The memories were fuzzy at first, but hit him all at once like a train. His eyes bulged and he bolted upright, shouting in pain. He clutched his abdomen, and felt a tender hand pushing him back down. He was in the infirmary of Nikos, and the room he was in only held him and Nero. He was in a hospital gown, and a blanket covered him up to his lap. Bandages were wound tight around his midsection, and his nose was wrapped in gauze, clearly broken. Nero's hand guided him back down to the bed, patting his shoulder softly.

"Easy there," Nero said, returning to his chair next to the bed. "Most of those ribs are still fractured. You're on biotics, but you're here for at least the night until everything sets."

"How long have I been out?" Jahim said, his voice hoarse. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide. "Where's Tahir?"

"Relax," Nero said, pointing to a heart monitor that was spiking. "I have Yang keeping an eye on him."

"Yang?" Jahim asked, before shaking his head. "What has he done since we-"

"Nothing, he hasn't done anything." Nero put his hand back on Jahim's shoulder. "Jahim, relax, please. You're panicking. You're safe right now, okay?" Jahim curled into a ball, pulling his legs close to his chest. "J, what happened out there?"

"Tahir… there was a grimm. It jumped on me, and I kept pushing myself after." Jahim's voice was tiny, like he was trying to hide from Nero as he curled into a tighter ball.

"J…" Nero said, with a sigh. "J, I was there for a long time, behind one of the trees. Donovan didn't want shit. You were gone, and Donovan had told me about your training sessions. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and I heard him say… _things_. Awful things. And then he just flipped a switch, and was back to the Tahir that everyone knows." Jahim's eyes were wide, mortified that Nero had found out the truth. "J, that's not training. He's abusing you."

"He's helping m-me get stronger," Jahim stammered.

"I may not exactly know how a proper sibling relationship is supposed to work, but saying the things he did, Jahim, those words weren't love. Noone who loves you would ever treat you like that. And the fact that he stopped as soon as he knew he was in the public eye means he _knows_ what he's doing isn't right." He tightened his grip on Jahim's shoulder. "Please, J. We've been best friends for fuck knows how long, and even are kinda… together," he said, looking away for a brief moment. "I'm worried, J. My… _boyfriend_ is in the infirmary because of 'training', your brother saying those things, lying about beating you up like this. Can you… can you trust me with what's really happening? I just don't wanna see you like, y'know, _this_."

Jahim looked into Nero's eyes for what felt like an eternity. The silence ate at him like a starving buzzard, until it was too unbearable to maintain any longer. "Nero…" Jahim squeaked out, barely audible. "I… want your word. I want to know that this is between us, as friends, as partners, as human beings, and only us."

Nero nodded. "Nothing leaves this room."

Jahim took a deep breath, raising his voice. "You know Gloria, our new friend?"

"The girl from Mistral, GOBI's leader, yeah," Nero said.

"You know about her… transition, right? That she's transgender?"

"I think I remember reading about it," Nero said, thinking back, "but I don't think she ever talked about it."

"She's actually pretty famous for it, not a lot of people are out like her in Mistral." Jahim managed to crack a brief smile before returning to his stoic expression. "My point is that she's… I'm… oh gods, why is this so hard?"

"I.. I think I get it," Nero said. "Jahim, are you saying that you're…"

Jahim nodded. A tear formed in the pit of his eye.

"Is that why Tahir…"

Another nod, and a sniffle with it.

"And I'm guessing that he's blackmailing you into following his orders with this, huh?"

Yet another nod, and the dam broke, tears falling down his face in quiet sobbing. Nero scooted the chair up against the bed and wrapped his arms around Jahim, shushing him and patting his back. "Nero, I… I want to tell you everything. Why all this is happening. Can I…"

Nero nodded, pulling back from Jahim and looking him in the eye. "Please."

"I was born in a large town, located in a patch of arid badlands southwest of Vale, called Kasbah. My mother died in the process, I never knew her. I was named Hamrā by my father, the Warchief of Kasbah. I was a… girl, at birth, and that meant I went with my sisters in their place in my father's life. My father had numerous wives, and my sisters and I lived among them in their section of his mansion, living almost in poverty under the roof of a man who wore enough gold daily to feed us all for twenty lifetimes."

"Why would he treat you like that?" Nero asked, tilting his head in thought. "You're all his family, right?"

Jahim shook his head. "Kasbah is very detached from Vale. It's not represented in Vale's politics, nor do they have any desire to, in either direction. Kasbah wants nothing to do with the outside world, and Vale finds Kasbah's policies on certain issues repulsive, and refuse to recognize them."

"That explains why, despite my well traveled mom, I've never heard of the place." Nero said. "What kinda policies are bad enough to make Vale turn it's nose up like that?"

"Kasbah is… harsh. To survive there, you have to be tougher, stronger, more tenacious than anywhere else on Remnant. It's why my brother and I are so tall; Kasbahn citizens are all our size." Jahim chuckled. "I'm actually a runt there, if you can believe that. I'm the only person I ever knew there that wasn't 6'6" or taller." He shook his head. "Regardless, it lead to an… archaic idea of societal roles. Kasbahn men are goliah warriors, strong and powerful. They saw women as smaller, frailer, and in need of protection. Maybe that was the case when Kasbah first popped up, but that's nowhere near true now."

"Yeah, no kidding," Nero said. "Legitimately, the strongest 3 people I know are all women."

"Kasbah didn't see it that way. They placed women in the home, to be married, and to be mothers. There wasn't any escaping this role, back when the grimm were around centuries ago. Kasbahn men fought to protect their wives, who were barred from fighting. It wasn't until after the grimm were gone for good, and Warchief Rumit came into power, that things got real bad. Rumit saw the traditions as why Kasbah survived, and made them law. Women couldn't be anywhere without a man, couldn't train or fight, or take up positions outside what was deemed 'appropriate' for them. They were usually lower class workers, or other things, among the peasantry. Among Kasbah's nobles, women were sold as wives or concubines between them, to earn favor or mend disagreements. Women were tools, like a sword or plow, and I was no different.

"I knew I was different the moment I hit my teenage years. The changes all just felt… _wrong_. Wrong in ways I don't think I'll ever be able to explain. I tried to hide my more… feminine aspects. Tight underwear, baggy dresses, bandages wound around my chest, anything to make that sense of just unending _wrong_ cease. The other girls helped, I honestly think that they knew way before I did, even. They'd smuggle me bandages, swap clothes with me, anything to help me. It wasn't until the first time I saw Tahir that I knew for myself what was going on, and why I felt so uncomfortable.

"I didn't meet Tahir until I was 11. Tahir, even at only 14, was the biggest and strongest of my brothers. We were only half-brothers, his mother having been sold long ago to a farm lord to maintain his loyalty. Tahir was our generation's Mansur, or "Victor", the human deemed perfect enough to be taught the Mansur style by the gurus. Even back then, he was built like a brick shithouse; tall, muscular, well set jaw, everything an ideal man thinks about as they train. Seeing him was one of the first times I felt _right_. Not wrong, or just okay, but _right_. I knew that's what I was. I knew I was a man, something just, didn't check out i guess, and I was in a woman's body. I went to the mothers, to tell them what I had discovered, and to ask them for their help once more. I found them hushedly discussing something, and they quieted as I entered. I asked them what was wrong, and they told me the news. I was to be married off to a lord who grew opium, to facilitate my father's addiciton. I was… I was a damned _drug deal_." Jahim pounded his fist on the nightstand, his shoulders shaking. Nero put his hand back on Jahim's shoulder, and Jahim calmed down slightly.

"We can stop if this is uncomfortable," Nero said.

"No, It's…" Jahim sighed. "It's okay. You deserve to hear this." Nero nodded, and Jahim continued. "I was devastated. I told them everything, how there was no way I could be someone's slave of a wife, bear their children, do any of it. I… I tried to take my own life that night." He raised his arms, numerous horizontal scars Nero had never noticed visible across his forearms. Nero's eyes widened, his grip on Jahim's shoulder tightening. "When they finally staunched the bleeding on my wrists, the women all disappeared for a long time. When they returned, they came back with food, and clothes, and bandages, and all of my father's gold jewelry. He had apparently passed out on opium, and the women had stolen all of this from him. They bundled it, and snuck me out past all the guards. They took two of the horses, put a dummy on one, and me on the other. They released the dummy horse into town, to draw all the guards away, before sending me off, with tearful hugs and goodbyes. I rode into the evening, looking back on the shrinking Kasbah as I headed in the direction that they had said the nearest village was in. I was tired, and distraught, to the point where a grimm attack's possibility didn't phase me. A bloody death at their hand was preferable to what was behind me.

"I reached the village of Amore a full two days later, exhausted and hungry. I traded all of the gold for lien to spare, and immediately set to becoming, well, me. I bought men's clothes, loving the fit and feel. I cut my hair, and dyed what was left my signature crimson. When the guards asked my name when I arrived at Vale's border, I used my name for the first time. Jahim. It means Hellfire, by the way. My old name meant fire, and I liked that, so I kept it going. I used the rest of my lien to rent a place to myself, and to enter Signal. That's when I met Amber, and Porfirio, and Sienna, and Alice, and, well, you." Jahim smiled. "And the next few years, I found who I could be, and loved every second of it. The freedom of being away from Kasbah was the best feeling in the world. But it all came crashing down after Vacuo." Nero shuddered, the memories of the attack, of their failure, and of Amber's capture surging back. "I was on international news, my face was out there. I didn't worry, at first. Kasbah had no electricity, let alone televisions. But that didn't stop Tahir.

"Tahir had been contracted to hunt me down for my crimes against my father. The women who helped me escape had all been tortured and executed, and I was to be collected, and returned to Kasbah, where my father would sell me as a slave, not even giving me the dignity of marriage anymore. He came for me, and all I thought was that my life was over. Tahir had been given the cover of a student at Nikos, and had apparently earned a name for himself. I knew he was there, we saw him on TV every now and then, during his first year. It made me realize keeping my family name was a mistake, because now I was tied to him. It was only a matter of time, and Vacuo only exacerbated it. I expected him to drag me back to Kasbah, but he hesitated. He had seen my combat prowess, and knew I had potential, for a woman, in his eyes. He offered me a choice. Return to Kasbah, and be at the mercy of my father, or heed his beck and call, and train under him, blending the Mansur style with my own. Disobeyment, failure, anything, would mean being dragged back to Kasbah."

"Why… why would he even offer it? I don't get it." Nero said, scratching his head. "I mean, I'm obviously grateful he did, but what did he have to gain? It obviously wasn't love."

Jahim shook his head. "Tahir had taken his cover too far. He was drunk on his success and ego, and knew he was so much better than anyone else. He didn't want a brother, or love. Tahir wanted an equal. He wants someone that can fight him. He saw that in me. He told me how to act towards him, and how to think. Eventually, it became second nature, the acting, the lying. I think that I believed if I kept lying and acting, I'd believe it. That I needed him. That this was better for me. But I know… I know it's not. I tried to lie to Donovan, and myself, and it's not true. It never will be. But I have to do it." He curled back into a ball, ducking his head in. "I can't go back to Kasbah. I can't go back to being a girl. I can't go back to my old name." Jahim choked, his sobs returning.

"Can't we, you know, do something?" Nero asked.

Jahim bolted upright, shaking his head as he winced in pain again. "If Tahir finds out that I've sold him out, or if he's run out of town. He'll mobilize Kasbah to come get me. My father would move mountains to bring me home, he's so petty. And that would mean a war. A war Vale would win handily. Kasbah would be erased, and many people from Vale would die in the process, because of me. I can't… I can't do that. I can't have that blood on my hands." Jahim shook again, turning to Nero. "I want to do something, _anything_ , but anything I do just ends up with something I can't bear. Nero I… I…" Jahim collapsed again, hugging Nero and pulling him down with him. Nero shifted onto the bed, shushing Jahim once again. "What…" Jahim stammered, calming down, "What do I do?"

"I, I really don't know right now," Nero said, "but I'm not letting anything else happen. You're not going back to that place ever again. You're not who you were, you're not a woman, you're not what they want you to be. You're Jahim fuckin' Farid. You don't take shit from anyone. You kick ass with the best of them. You helped topple a fuckin' fascist regime, man. You've been my best friend for years, and… and now I'm thinking there's more to it than that, and I'm loving every second of it. You're _you_ , Jahim. Nothing will ever change that, and I'm not gonna let anything try either."

Nero smiled at Jahim, and Jahim closed the distance, planting a kiss on Nero's lips. They lingered together for a moment, before Jahim pulled back, looking somewhat timid.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, it just, felt like, and I wanted, and, I'm sorry, and-"

Nero silenced him with another shush, and smiled again. "It's okay, Jahim. It's okay." He leaned in, and the two shared another kiss. "Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I met my great aunt?"

Jahim smiled. "No, but it sounds like a tale."

"Boy, is it. Raven's a real piece of work."

"...and like that she just up and vanished into thin air. I don't have any fuckin' clue how, but… Hey, Jahim?"

Nero paused his story, and turned to Jahim. He had fallen asleep, succumbing to the exhausting of the day and was snoring softly against Nero's shoulder. Nero smiled, before leaning back, and closing his ow


	47. The Wordsmith and The Anarchist

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Yang shouted into the loudspeaker, "I present to you, the Final 8!"

The crowd erupted as the center platform of Vytal Colosseum rose up, and on it stood 8 finalists. Nikos had a strong showing, earning 5 of the spots on their own. Jay, Porfirio, Tahir, and Bruno Dume, another fourth year, stood proudly next to one another. Mistral took a single spot, Gloria representing her academy next to Tahir's goliath frame. Vacuo managed to seal the last two slots, with a few first time-finalists.

"You all know the deal," Yang continued. "Knockout style, baby. 1v1, no environments, just straight demonstration of skill. We're gonna take these kids downstairs, and get them paired up randomly. They'll be mic'd up, and we'll be silent. From here on out, it's their show, and hopefully it's a great one!"

The crowd once again cheered, as the platform descended back into the shadows. "And now," Ruby said, "It's time for our predictions! Yang?"

Yang stroked her chin. "I'm going to have to play it safe, and say that Tahir Farid will take it for the third year running!" A large portion of the crowd cheered in response. Nero turned to his side in the stands, and found Jahim mid-sigh. Nero found his hand, and Jahim managed a smile after they locked fingers. "What about you, Rubes?" Yang continued.

"Well, you know that I've never liked playing it safe," Ruby said, tapping her eyepatch.

"Gruesome example," Yang said, "but go on."

"You may have the most experience with these kids in combat, but you're neglecting one thing; new blood. I'm living proof that the young guns aren't ever to be estimated, and not one, but _two_ first-year students made top 8 this year. And of them, while one is strong, the other is stronger, more experienced, and has kicked more ass than anyone this entire tournament in my eye." Ruby grinned wide. "That's why I'm placing my prediction that Jay Merletta will upset the bracket and win this tournament!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, many doing Jay's fist-pump gesture. Beneath the grounds, the 8 finalists stood watching on the TV, and Porfirio brought Jay up into a hug.

"Congrats, man!" Porfirio said, putting her down.

"Thanks, I guess?" Jay said, confusedly. "I'm not too sure how this all works, to be honest."

"Ruby's prediction has never lost the tournament," Gloria said, punching Jay's shoulder. "That means she's got a fuckload of faith in you."

"Indeed," Tahir said, leaning against the wall far from the rest of them. He had immediately distanced himself and became silent, so his sudden comment caught the room's attention. "Yang and Ruby have both agreed together that I would be the winner two years in a row. Previous to that, her guesses had never been inaccurate. Either a 11 year streak is broken today," he continued, walking towards Jay, "or she's seen something in you that I haven't." He chuckled. "I'll have my eye on you, Merletta."

Tahir turned on his heel, before exiting the small room they had been placed in. Jay turned to Porfirio, and both shared a moment of silence. Jay finally turned and leaned against the wall near her. "I think… yeah, I think I hate that guy."

Porfirio sighed. "Oh thank _fuck_ that means I'm not crazy." He crossed his arms. "He's really got that air around him, huh?"

"No kidding," Gloria said.

"Hey y'all, quiet down," one of the other finalists in the room said, "Looks like they're 'bout to say who's fighting first."

The entire group turned to face the TV, which showed rotating dials not unlike those that decided terrain in the earlier rounds. The two dials landed on Jay and Bruno, their faces set over their names, and prompting another round of cheers.

"You should get going," Gloria said. "Looks like you're up first."

Jay chuckled as she turned to the door. "Looks like Ruby's foresight will get tested pretty quick, huh?"

"You sure I gotta wear this thing?"

Jay disliked the feel of the microphone that was hooked to her ear. It was as unintrusive as possible, but it still felt alien and awkward to her. The attendant that had helped her put it on stepped off the stool she had needed to stand on to reach Jay's head, and nodded.

"Yeah, sorry if it bothers ya," she said. "Regardless, you're up against one heck of a fighter. I wish you luck!"

"Thanks," Jay said, smiling as she walked outside her room and into the open. She grinned wide as the crowd roared around her, and she raised her fist in her now signature gesture. She stopped as she reached the center platform, and looked towards the other doors, which opened with a hiss, revealing the silhouette of her opponent. The man walked from his waiting room, and silence suddenly overtook the stadium, confusing Jay to no end. Suddenly, the air was filled with the sound of a guitar's melody, and a low, soothing hum along to the tune. Out of the darkness walked a man in a long, brown waistcoat, and a wide-brimmed hat. His dark skin contrasted his hair, several dreadlocks cascading from underneath his hat, each a different colour. He played and hummed as he walked, Jay now realizing why they were mic'd. As he reached the center platform, and as he reached the end of the hum's refrain, he began to speak in a long drawl, not in any kind of tune, but still along with the music.

"Into Vale, the golden drifter fled. His home of Mistral's wetlands no longer wanted him, the swamp decidin' his craft was better suited for folks of a fancier kinda livin' than that which he grew up in. When the drifter arrived, he found himself surrounded by folks that weren't takin' too kind to his kind's presence. He sensed resentment in the air, and knew his craft was the way to dispel it. He took his guitar, the one possession he had taken with him, and began to play, the melodic notes and the flow of his hum drawin' in those that would have had him cast out." He hummed again, the same as before, and the crowd cheered before quickly falling quiet. "Suddenly, a wayward vagabond was now the talk o'the town, and everyone with a set of ears came to hear his song. His fame gave him a higher position of livin', but that height had a new view. Oppression, corruption, racism, and injustice stained this supposedly 'fancier' city more than it did the swamps he grew up in. He knew that he was in a position to change things, which lead the drifter to the huntin' academy. There, he trained, and found himself among the best of the best." He once again bridged with a hum, a longer one, giving the crowd ample time to cheer. "Through the desert, the winged vigilante fought. The sole survivor of a genocide unlike the world had ever seen, the vigilante had every right to curl up and allow fate to take her too. However, the vigilante decided she wouldn't let fate win, not this time. She honed her craft to the point of mastery, and practiced the art of fightin' until her brawls were an art gallery. She took to the skies, tearin' apart those that had wronged her, and brought light to dark skies. Not yet sated in her quest for justice, she came to Vale, and sought out what information she didn't have before." His familiar hum bridged once more. "A drifter and a vigilante meet. The occasion? A challenge of their abilities, as a sport of unification and pride. The crossroad? A stadium symbolic of said traits. The result? Well, that's somethin' that not even fate can predict." He hummed again as the notes faded out, and he slung the instrument onto his back, to the riotous cheer of the audience. Jay was awestruck by the performance, and began to applaud him as well.

"You seem to be a man of many talents, Dume," Jay said with a smile. "That was pretty damn good."

Bruno laughed a hearty guffaw, and tipped his hat up, revealing deep brown eyes. "Your praise is generous, miss Merletta. Or would you prefer Jay?"

"Jay, please. I dislike using my family's name," She said, her smile fading. "Reminds me too much of home."

Bruno hummed softly, a somber note that hung in the air. "I am sorry for bringin' those memories back into the forefront of your mind, Jay. It was not my intention at all in askin' the question."

Jay raised her hand. "It's not an issue," she said, "I've got things to help me deal with it." Her eyes wandered to Alice in the crowd, who was seated next to Nao, and being given the play by play from her.

"Ah yes, the lovely miss Tuyet," Bruno said with a toothy grin, revealing a gold tooth in his upper front teeth. "I may not have been a fisherman, but it don't take one to know you've got quite a catch on that line of yours."

Jay chuckled. "You've got a real way with words, Dume."

Another hearty belly laugh encompassed the stadium. "As you present yourself as a blacksmith, I fancy myself as a wordsmith, forgin' a more elegant prose from common and uncommon vernacular alike."

"Your accent's super thick too," Jay said, Bruno's grin becoming infectious. "I wonder if mine'd come back if I spent some time back in Mistral."

"You speak as though you are filled with envy, but in truth our voices are built for different things," Bruno said. "My drawl allows for flow, and a mighty fine hum. Your tones would sound beautiful set to guitar, I'd reckon."

Jay laughed. "I'll tell you what, Dume. Once I've beaten ya, I'll play a little song on that guitar of yours. Been working on a new piece anyway, and may as well show it off."

"Indeed, we've been puttin' off the main show for far too long." Bruno tossed his guitar to a waiting attendant on the bridge to his entranceway, before both paths receeded. He grasped the collar of his jacket, and pulled both it and his hat off, tossing them to the wind. Bruno's rainbow-coloured dreadlocks flowed in the breeze, and his well toned muscles were on display for all to see. His forearms and knuckles were wrapped in bandages, but he was otherwise unarmed. "C'mon, Jay, it's time your engineerin' mind was tested in the sweet science. My gold, versus your… what are you made of?"

"Homosexuality and feathers, mostly," Jay said with a smile. She got into her standard stance, raising her fists and elbows upward and planting her feet to the ground.

Bruno laughed harder than he had so far, bracing himself on his knees. He wiped tears from his eyes, and composed himself, getting into his own stance, with his hands up and dancing lightly on his feet. "You are somethin' else, Jay. This oughta be a better fight than Farid was!"

The gong sounded, and Jay surged forward, laying a punch directly into Bruno's jaw. She heard a clang, and saw that Bruno's lower mouth was now a shining gold, and his face had barely budged. The gold disappeared, and a golden fist surged forward, striking Jay's face and knocking her backward. Bruno laughed again as she picked herself up, the gold texture receding from his arm.

"Was that an attack," he said, "or are we still tradin' epithets?"

"What the fuck…" Jay said, checking her jaw for breaks, and seeing on the scoreboard she was down a full ten percent, while Bruno remained untouched.

"Gold ain't the best metal for some things," Bruno said, his hand becoming enveloped in gold once more. "It's real malleable and soft for a metal, meanin' it's next to worthless as a primary or pure metal for smithin'. But, gold has one thing goin' for it other than it's worth." He slammed his fist into the ground, leaving a sizable crater. Jay knew a blow of that force would not only need sizable strength, but it would also shatter every bone in Bruno's hand. The gold left his arm, and his hand was perfectly fine. "It's dense, and heavier than shit."

"You can turn your body to gold? Unreal," Jay said.

"Indeed, Jay, I can. I trust you'll use that insight to your advantage?"

"I'll certainly try!" Jay shouted as she leapt forward again. Bruno raised his arms to block the strikes, each one becoming golden right as the blow would connect. Bruno would retaliate with the other hand, gold enveloping it as it left the block. Even when Jay would go for his legs, he would react with his semblance faster than she could strike. She backed up, breathing hard as she surveyed him. _His style is just boxing. I should be destroying him. This damn semblance…_ She thought back to how it worked. _Maybe…_

She ran forward, and hit his arm, again being blocked by his semblance. As Bruno did his standard counterattack, Jay rotated and swept his legs. The unexpected hit was unprotected by his semblance, and knocked him off his feet. As he fell, his semblance reflexively covered the point of impact. As Bruno slowly retracted it, Jay brought a strike downward, an axe kick connecting with Bruno's unguarded chest and flattening him to the ground. Bruno rolled away, jumping back to his feet.

"You've put the pieces together, it seems," Bruno said with a grin.

Jay returned the grin, chuckling. "Well, it looked like you could only have one section active at a time. Your style's pretty weak to mine already, and now I've got the download." She raised her arms again. "Question is, can you beat me now that I know?"

Bruno chuckled, and raised his own arms. "Like I said, girl, not even fate can predict that."

This time, the two charged at each other, meeting in the center of the arena. Jay immediately went for a sweep, and found it blocked. She threw her punch, gliding past Bruno's own, gold-clad arm. Before the gold could spread to his face, Jay's blow connected with his jaw. At the same time, Bruno's strike connected with Jay's own face, and the two locked for a moment. Jay then twisted her arm, spinning over Bruno and putting him into a hold. She used the thrusters on her back to surge into the air with dust, taking him with her. In response, Bruno converted his entire body up to his neck into gold, and Jay's grip sagged under the weight, her wings struggling to hold the extreme weight. She smiled, as she reoriented herself, spinning as she fell. Bruno's eyes widened, and he began to recede his semblance from his body. The gold had receded to his waistline when Jay landed on the ground, where she pivoted on her heel, and threw Bruno as hard as she could. With half of his body still gold, Bruno was completely unable to reorient himself, and weighted down by his own body, he sailed off the ledge, and plummeted out of bounds, becoming eliminated. Jay panted, rising from her throwing pose and raising her hand in a fist pump, the crowd roaring in a fervorous cheer, many standing and mimicking Jay's pose.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Yang said, coming back onto the microphone, "Jay Merletta defeats last year's runner up, and makes the semi-finals!"

The quarterfinal matches progressed fairly quickly, with Porfirio and the other fourth year from Nikos defeating the Vacuo students handily. The final match of the day, Gloria versus Tahir, was about to begin. Gloria walked out of her doorway, stopping on the center platform as she watched the goliath Tahir Farid walk from his own. He easily stood more than two feet taller than her, and was shritless, his dark skin contrasting with his long white hair and beard that flowed softly in the wind. As he walked, his necklace swayed, a string of prayer beads each the size of a grapefruit. At least a dozen vials of dust were strung along his belt the bright colours accenting the black of his baggy pants. Gloria thought to her two grenade cannons on her back, wondering how she was going to fight him. She knew she would, invariably, end up winging it, and tossed the idea aside. As Tahir reached the arena, he flicked his wrist, a gesture that Gloria doubted she would have noticed had she not already been sizing him up.

"What was that?" she asked, pointing to his hand.

"A small electric pulse," Tahir said. "It won't affect any of our equipment, but it has shorted out our microphones, and they will not be able to bring them back online. This will let us talk without anyone else having to hear."

"Sorry guys, but we seem to be having trouble with their audio," Yang said, fiddling with things in the booth, seeming to confirm Tahir's words.

"And _why_ ," Gloria said, crossing her arms, "would we need that?"

"Because," Tahir said with a chuckle. "You're one of the people who thinks they can poison my sister's mind with your foolish thoughts, Gloria." He chuckled again. "Or should I say Victor?"

Gloria felt her blood begin to boil. " _Nobody_ gets to call me that. Not anymore."

Tahir smirked. "Come and make me stop, then."

Gloria readied her cannons, one in each hand, aiming them both at Tahir. "You're playing with fire, love."

"What is fire," Tahir asked, placing his hands behind his back, "to one who flows like water?"

"You gonna metaphor me to death, big guy?" Gloria said, right as the gong sounded. "I'll pass on that game." She fired a volley of easily a dozen grenades at Tahir, her launchers emptying their six-shot drums rapidly. As the grenades reached Tahir, he remained stalwart, and his body suddenly jerked in different directions, rapidly assuming new stances and poses to avoid every shot. After dodging the last projectile, he resumed his initial pose.

"Are you finished?" Tahir said with a chuckle. "You're out, are you not?"

Gloria raised her left leg high, letting her mechanical foot dangle, and resting her arm lightly on her thigh. "Tough talk for someone who hasn't thrown a punch yet."

Tahir let out a loud laugh, before returning to a stoic expression. "Come at me now."

Gloria obliged, hopping forward into a frontflip. As she flipped, she extended her leg, and a port on her heel opened, fire dust searing outward and forming a wave that surged at Tahir. He batted the flames aside, just in time to parry a kick that followed it. Gloria continued her assault, each of her kicks leaving a fiery trail that would sear Tahir's aura as he parried the strikes from the metal limbs. After one kick was parried slightly early, Gloria smiled, before spinning on her heel. As she turned, she pointed her launchers at Tahir's chest, pulling the trigger. To Tahir's surprise, grenades flew from the barrel, impacting onto his chest and knocking him backward. As he flew, he drew from his vial of rock dust, and created a stone wall to impact against instead of being ringed out. Gloria assumed her pose with her raised leg, and smirked.

"Still think you can fuck about with defense and insults, love?" she said.

"Your munitions regeneration semblance," Tahir growled. "Your aura can manifest itself and regenerate your destroyed ammunition or weapons. I'm embarrassed I forgot about it."

"I'm not some girl you can just toy with. I'm the strongest student in Mistral, and I came here for a fight."

Tahir suddenly vanished from, Gloria's view, her eyes going wide. He reappeared behind her, striking the small of her back.

"I shall give you one."

He again disappeared, reappearing in front of Gloria and hitting her head in a savage downward strike. He vanished once more, appearing in a backflipping kick to her abdomen from her left. He continued this assault, vanishing and reappearing to strike, for several more blows, before delivering a palm strike to her chest, sending her tumbling backward. She caught her breath, staggered to her feet.

"It's not very polite to hit a lady there, you know," she managed to choke out.

Tahir merely grinned, before appearing directly in front of her, and locking his right hand around her throat. "Then it is a good thing I'm not fighting one." Gloria gasped, suddenly barely able to breathe. "My sister is tainted, because of people like you. Sickening, attention seeking vermin who disregard all that life teaches us. You've twisted her perception of her place, much like yours has been. My victory over you here cements that you are wrong."

"Fuck, mate, that's one closed mind you got there," Gloria spat, while curling her legs upward. She grabbed onto her ankles, and detached the limbs from their ports. "Let me see if I can help you open it up a tad!" She swung both her club-like legs into Tahir's head, catching him by surprise. When the limbs connected with his head, the chambers within them that stored the dust for her fiery kicks detonated, prompting Tahir to shout in pain and let go of Gloria's neck. She grabbed onto him, swinging her torso around Tahir as her legs regenerated. As they fully formed, she got Tahir into a chokehold, and used the fire dust jets in her heels to propel herself and toss Tahir into the air. She continued the propulsion, spinning herself like a helicopter and rapidly kicking Tahir as she ascended. At their apex, she grabbed Tahir once more, before thrusting both of them downward. She landed on her metal legs in a powerful stance, before carrying the rest of the momentum forward, side slamming Tahir into the ground by her grip on his neck. The force of the impact dented the ground, and Gloria hopped backward, hoping that when the dust settled, it would be enough. The cloud around the impact cleared, and Tahir was nowhere to be found. As Gloria began to gasp, Tahir appeared in front of her, and punched her in the sternum. The punch moved less than inch, from its starting point to her chest, but the impact was massive. The sound could be heard across the stadium, and Gloria felt every bone in her ribcage shatter from the blow. She surged backward, and to everyone's shock, shattered the forcefield around the arena, the energy barrier dissipating before Glora slammed into the concrete wall behind it, becoming embedded in the crater she left. Tahir paused for a moment, reveling in his victory, a smile across his face. He glanced to the crowd, and saw the expression of horror on Jahim's face, and felt his anger return. He walked out of the arena, thinking that he heard something about his victory, and about getting a med team to Gloria. He didn't pay it much mind, his anger keeping him from thinking clearly.

"Pitiful creatures," he muttered, as he shut the door behind him.


	48. Bonds of Tragedy

"You sure this is the right room?" Jay said, looking at the placard. SAJJ and ASNL had rushed after the ambulance carrying Gloria. They had followed the various directions they had been given, and had landed in front of room 728. "Oh, her name's right here."

"Donovan," Amber said, "you should knock."

Donovan nodded, and lightly rapped on the door. There was a pause, before a meek voice emerged from the room. "Come in."

Donovan breathed deep, before twisting the handle and opening the door, leading his friends into Gloria's room. Instantly, their expressions warped into shock, and Alice audibly gasped. Gloria's body was in a full cast, her arms hoisted into the air. Her eyes were closed, and an oxygen mask lied over her face, a heart monitor's steady bleep the only noise in the room. Nao sat at the bedside, her head gaze locked on the floor. Her eyes were puffy and red, tears staining her cheeks and pooling on the ground below her.

Alice moved her hand from in front of her mouth, and broke the near silence. "Is she…"

"Alive?" Nao squeaked out. "Barely. Her entire ribcage and forearms were shattered like glass. Her spinal cord was heavily fractured, and if it weren't for the pole connecting her mind to her cybernetics, she probably would have broken her neck." She choked on a sob. "She's in a coma. The biotics are doing their work, and we know she'll survive, but waking up is another story." Her fists balled up into fists on her legs. "The fucker's passing it off as an accident. What bullshit. You don't 'accidentally' punch someone with enough force to kill anyone that isn't a cybrid."

"My thoughts exactly."

The entire room snapped their heads to the doorway, where Yang stood against the frame, her arms crossed and a rare frown on her face. "Hey kids, I didn't know you guys knew Ms. Gradient," she said, turning to the group, before turning back to Nao. "I came here to see if Gloria was in a condition to answer questions. Unfortunately, because of… this… my investigation's hitting a hitch."

"Investigation?" Donovan said. "What of?"

"You all heard that the mics were dead in Gloria's round, right?" Most of the group nodded, and Yang continued. "Well, I went back through the footage, and I noticed Tahir making a small motion with his hand right before the signal cuts. Normally, I wouldn't pay attention to this, but Tahir's hand was right next to his supply of electricity Dust, and Tahir is a master of Dust manipulation. Better than me, even." Yang shook her head, and looked at Gloria. "I was hoping to hear what he had said to Gloria during the cut audio, to see if it was normal combat banter. But, Tahir doesn't do anything by accident. Tahir's semblance gives him all the time in the world to plan a strike. Tahir doesn't panic, nor does he do things unintentionally. I've learned this over the last 3 years. So this," she said, outstretching her hand towards Gloria, "means Tahir is possibly acting intentionally. If so, his strike was likely intended to kill. But why?"

Silence overtook the room, until another quiet voice shattered it.

"I know why," Jahim said. "I know why Tahir would be doing this."

Nero turned to Jahim, and put his hand on his shoulder. "Jahim, you don't have to-"

"I do, Nero," Jahim said, putting his own hand on Nero's. "If Tahir's doing this, there's… there's things more important than me going on here." He turned to Yang. "Yang, can you shut the door?" Yang nodded, and shut it behind her, entering the room. Jahim breathed deep, and faced his friends. "I need to tell you all about me, and my home, everything."

Jahim told his entire story to the group, everything from his birth, to his escape, to his transition's beginning. As he told the story, the reactions of his friends was varied. Alice was almost in a state of shock, the tale of neglect and abuse hitting far too close to home. Nao had her eyes shut, the tale mirroring her lover's own. Porfirio was explaining some of the things Sienna didn't understand to her, and comforting her through the crying she fell into when the realization finally hit her. Yang's eyes had blinked to red, her fists clenched in barely controlled anger. Amber and Jay were stoic, seemingly lost in thought at what to say or think. Finally, Donovan faced the wall, unable to look at Jahim. After Jahim finished, Donovan was the first to speak, still facing the wall.

"So when you would come back broken and bruised, because of Tahir's training, it was really abuse?" His own fists clenched. "It was really that man beating you for who you are? Something you can't control?"

Jahim walked to Donovan, and put his hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault. I lied to you, Donovan."

"It's my fault for not seeing this sooner, this abuse of you. The pattern was clear, I just," he put his head into his metal hand. "I just failed you. I let him hurt you. Me ignoring it is as much abuse as his was."

"Donovan, that's not true," Jahim said. "I was as much of a part of it as you were." He spun him around, and looked him in the eye. "It's not your fault." He wrapped Donovan in a hug. "And you did so much more to help me than you _ever_ did you hurt me." Donovan reciprocated the hug, and Jahim pulled back, looking at Gloria. "Tahir probably saw Gloria as he does me. Like a beast, something unnatural. Something to be cleansed. I'm only alive because he has leverage on me. He… he probably was intending to kill her."

Nao tensed with anger, and her tears began to flow again. Jay, who had been silent thus far, suddenly spoke up. "Jahim, what do we do about this? How do we stop him?"

"You beat him," Yang said, the group once again snapping to her. "He's a shoo in for the finals, and you two are fighting each other. The rounds are predetermined, we just pretend they're random." She chuckled briefly. "Don't tell that to anyone. Anyway, point is, one of you two," she said, pointing at Porfirio and Jay, "are gonna fight him two days from now. You beat him there, his walls crumble, and down goes his sense of superiority."

Jay turned to face her with her full body. "You think we can take him? He hit Gloria so hard that she's _here_ now, for fuck knows how long, and she was the best out of all of us! How do we beat him?"

"It isn't a matter of how, it's a matter of why you'll beat him." Yang turned, opening the door to leave. "And that's because you're actually standing for everything he hates, the both of you." She turned away from entirely, pausing one more time. "And Jahim, you're strong, for telling us all that. We're all proud of you, for everything you've done. You've deserve so much more than what you're getting."

She walked away, shutting the door behind her. Jay shook her head, before turning to Jahim. "Thanks, Jahim," she said, hugging him tight, "thanks for trusting us with this. I can't imagine the nightmare you've been through."

Jahim shook his head, and smiled. "I'm just grateful I'm surrounded by people who make it into a dream instead."

The group had a large group hug, before parting. Jahim turned to Nao. "Will you be okay? Do you have a place to stay here? Where's the rest of her team?"

"GOBI was, er, deported, earlier," Nao said. "They tried to assault Tahir, and were swiftly shipped back to Haven. As for me, I'll be fine. My team's still got their dorm they're staying in, so I've got a place to stay."

"You need anything, we're a call away, alright?" Nero said. "Far as I'm concerned, we're in this together until it's over for good."

Nao nodded. "I'll keep in touch."

SAJJ and ASNL walked out of the room, waving goodbye to Nao. Jay exited last, turning and taking a lingering look at Gloria before shaking her head, following her team out of the hospital.

It was well past midnight at Nikos, and the emotionally and physically draining day had taken its toll on SAJJ, sending them all to sleep rather quickly. That is, all but one. Jay lied awake in her bed, only moving when she was sure no one else was even close to being awake. She quietly sat up, before pulling the handgun out from its hiding place under her pillow. She had purchased the firearm from the festival's trade show, and couldn't be traced to her. She stood up, tucking the weapon into the waist of her pants before making her way to the door. She paused, looking back at her team, her gaze lingering on Alice, and her heart sinking. She then moved her sight to Jahim, and her fury reignited. _I'm sorry_ , she thought, _but this is something I just have to do_.

She opened the door, carefully closing it as quietly as she could, before turning around. It took all of her self control not to gasp in surprise when the frame of Yang Xiao Long stood before her, Lawbreaker extending from her stump and crossed with her other arm, a smirk on her face.

"Going somewhere, Merletta?" Yang said to her.

"I'm, er, heading to the bathroom," Jay stammered.

"With a gun?" Yang said, before reaching around Jay's waist and plucking the gun from her waistband.

Jay opened her mouth, but sighed in defeat. "Do you know where I was going, Xiao Long?"

"Maybe," Yang said in a singsongy tone. "Which is why I've been out here since you guys went to bed." Jay looked at her with a surprised expression. "Oh come on, you forget my _wife_ is a former professional assassin. You couldn't get one past me if you were Blake in her prime." She put the gun in her own waistband, before looking Jay in her eyes. "Y'know, I could have you booked for this."

"I…" Jay broke the eye contact. "Do what you need to. I'll stand by my actions."

"Hon, you haven't done shit to stand by yet," Yang said with a soft chuckle. "C'mon, come with me. I wanna talk to you." Yang beckoned her to follow, and Jay figured she had little other option, considering her situation. She was lead to the elevators, and all the way up to Yang and Blake's suite. "Take a seat, the couch is comfier than shit." Jay did as she was told, with Yang plopping down on the recliner to her right. "Jeez, would you believe me if this was the second pep talk I've had to give to one of you kids in here this week? I should start charging ya." Yang snickered, but Jay found it hard to do anything but worry or be angry.

"Why did you bring me here?' Jay asked, her tone cold enough to pull Yang out of her laughing. Yang sighed, and shook her head.

"Look, the truth is, I know exactly what you were doing. You were going to go off Tahir, weren't you?"

Jay's eyes widened. "How did you-"

"Please. I've killed more people than you've met, probably." She let out a disdainful sigh. "That's the interesting part about being a mass murderer, you get experience with that kinda shit."

"Yang…"

"Jay, I know you're not pretending to be innocent. I see your eyes, and they look like mine." She blinked, and her once violet eyes turned a fiery crimson, small licks of fire emerging from the sides. She blinked again, and the violet returned. "Sometimes literally."

"What the fuck…" Jay said, bewildered at what had happened.

"Sometimes, killing someone has… unintended consequences. Things that aren't ever gonna go away. Sometimes, it's physical, like a scar, or an eye, or even, y'know," she waved Lawbreaker for emphasis. "It's really not until years later, if you even have the luxury, that kills like what you were gonna do come back to you, in ways that aren't physical. Trust me, it happens a lot for me." She closed her eyes, and sighed. "Cinder Fall, Adam Taurus, those are the ones everyone knows. The bad guys, the ones we're _supposed_ to hate. They come to me the least, but it still happens, especially Cinder." She chuckles. "She was roped into it, I think. She really didn't know what she had gotten into with Salem. By the time I got to her, she'd lost an eye, and her voice." Yang got quiet, bowing her head slightly. "She begged, y'know. Almost too soft to hear. She begged, and cried. It wasn't the time for that. She'd killed Pyrrha, er, Ms. Nikos, and she'd hurt Ruby. I looked her in her eye while I tore her heart out of her chest." He fist clenched. "I did it. I killed the woman who made the fall of Beacon happen. The one who was responsible for the start of the war. I did it while making sure she wasn't thinking of anything else but her failing, and that I was the one killing her." She turned back to Jay. "But that's not what you were doing. You didn't have intentions like that. You weren't even doing it for Jahim. You were going to kill him because of your morality. You knew that Tahir shouldn't be living, and you were going to kill him because of that." She shook her head. "Jay Merletta wasn't going to kill Tahir. Visage was."

Jay felt herself snap up at the mention of her old moniker. She opened her mouth to retort, but no noise could come out. She sniffled, and tears began to well. "I'm… sorry…"

"Oh for fucks sake," Yang said, punching her shoulder, causing Jay to snap back to attention, "look at who you're talking to! You don't…" Yang bowed her head. "Jay, I need to tell you a story. A story nobody else on Remnant knows." Yang looked at Jay, her eyes once again alight with crimson and fire. "And one no one will know, if you know what is best for you."

For the first time since fighting Cole, legitimate fear crept into Jay. She reflexively scooted away from Yang, nodding at her request.

"Thank you," Yang said, before blinking and returning to her normal eyes again. "I need to tell you about the one that visits me every second of every day. The one thing that I can never redeem myself for." She looked Jay in the eyes again, and Jay felt her blood run cold. "I need to tell you about how I killed my father."

"Yo boss, there's a… Taiyang Xiao Long here to see you. Said you'd know who he was."

Yang froze, thankful her helmet obscured her face. _What is_ he _doing here?_ "Bring him in."

The goon at the front of Yang's office disappeared, leaving her alone for a few precious moments. She used them to compose herself, and relax her mind. If her father was here, after what she had said to him last time the fought, he had to know something.

Taiyang walked into the office, and Yang shooed off the goons that had escorted him in. They shut the door behind them, and Yang stood, looking at him through her mask. His body was still bruised from their last clash. The Dragons had visited Patch, on a mission of bringing them under Stardust's influence. Taiyang had stood up to them, apparently misunderstanding their… intent. Yang had made an example of him, striking him with Lawbreaker to the face and shattering his aura in an instant, sending the only Huntsman on the island tumbling to the ground in a defeated, embarrassed mess. The Dragons had control of Patch after that, with no further word of Mr. Xiao Long resisting. It was a costless victory, no lives being taken, and the occupation had reduced petty crime by almost 70%, with the other criminals being driven out, baffling the local law enforcement. Which was a fact that began to ring more alarm bells as to why Taiyang had come _here_.

"Now," Yang said, her voice masked by her helmet, "what brings an old man like you all the way out here?" She stood, and crossed her arms. "I would have thought that welt on your face would have gotten my point across."

Taiyang felt the bruise on his cheek, and chuckled. "Yeah, that's one heck of a right hook you've got there."

"I'm flattered, but I'm sure you're not here to compliment me on how hard I buried your ass. What do you want?"

"Well, I've been thinking about that fight for a few days, and there's a few things that stood out to me. Like how you seemed to know exactly where my style's attacks would be coming from, and how best to get around them. And that your right arms is unmistakably cybernetic, given the tech that blew my aura to pieces. And, the fact that the way you hit me, your distribution of weight, angle, everything, is _very_ similar to someone I know." Tai looked right at Yang, his gaze seeming to go right through her mask. "Someone who disappeared 2 years ago."

"What are you implying, Huntsman?" Yang asked, feigning frustration.

"I'm implying that you're my goddamned _daughter_ ," Tai said, pointing at her. "Aren't you?"

Yang sighed, taking her helmet off, and throwing it to the side. She stared into her father's eyes, her own crimson clashing against his blue. "There. I indulged you, happy?"

"Happy?" Taiyang said, "How the fuck am I supposed to be happy about my own daughter being a _crimelord_ Yang?"

"I don't know, maybe you _aren't_ ," Yang spat. "Maybe you were supposed to take that beating like the message it was supposed to be, and stay in Patch under our protection."

"Fuck that, I'm here about _you_!" Tai said, his tone of voice warbling slightly. "How… how did this happen, Yang? Where did my baby girl go?"

"Your 'baby girl' died at the Fall, Tai." Yang's fists clenched. "What's left is what you see. Someone who's determined to survive, to _live_. Someone who'll be damned if anyone or anything gets in her way." She pointed at the glass case on her wall, where Ember Celica lay on display. "Yang Xiao Long is gone, Taiyang. And she isn't coming back anytime soon."

Tai sighed, and bowed his head. "She might, if people knew she was here."

Yang snapped her gaze back to Tai. "What did you say?"

Tai looked back up, and met Yang's eyes, his own filled with anger. "If I put a name to the face under your mask, people will know. Know that the 'big bad kingpin of the Dragons' is really just a young girl, running away from her problems, just like her mother did!"

Yang's eyes snapped wide, and she felt her anger reach a boiling point. "Do _not_ compare me to her."

"Why shouldn't I?" Tai said. "You both have a nasty habit of not giving a shit about anyone but you!" Tai threw his hands into the air, before sighing and bringing them back down. "If Ruby knows you're here, she'll come. Qrow too. They'll bring you back to your senses."

Yang walked around to the front of her desk, her new, black gauntlets enveloping her arms. "You know that, because you said that, I can't let you leave. And you know you can't beat me."

Tai scoffed. "I didn't know I was fighting my daughter." Tai put his body low, his hands raised with their backs facing Yang.

Yang, shakes her head. "You still aren't." Yang breathed deep, and closed her eyes, before speaking so low Tai almost couldn't hear her. " _Tenchi no hedatari o mikiwame rarenu to wa awarenari._ " Yang's hair immediately began to glow, as she slammed her two fists into each other in front of her. Yang sharply inhaled, before opening her eyes. She raised her left foot, before slamming it into the ground in front of her, the impact denting the floor slightly. She raised her cybernetic arm just over her head, her palm facing outward, while her flesh and blood hand laid low and faced the floor. Taiyang's eyes widened, in surprise of what he was witnessing.

"That phrase, that stance… there's no way…"

"I spent 10 months in the mountains of Mistral. There was a village there, full of warriors, and they taught me something. A martial art stronger than any other. A technique as deadly to the user as it is to the recipient. So deadly that we are trained to mentally seal it away, until we recite the sacred phrase in a long dead tongue." Yang breathed deep once more, exhaling nothing but steam. "I am Stardust, master of the Ansatsuken, and you will not leave here alive."

Taiyang let out a nervous laugh. "You're bluffing. The Ansatsuken is a myth. And even if it was real, there's no way they'd teach someone like you for free."

"It's funny, that's exactly what they said about the Genei Jin," Yang said, reveling slightly in Tai's shock. "It was a clean trade, your style for another. As it turns out, they blended well. I am the result. The first master of the Denjin-Ansatsuken." Yang stood her ground, staring daggers into Tai. "You have once chance. Swear on Ruby's life no words about who I am leave this place, and you can return to Patch."

"No," Tai said, hardening his stance. "I won't let you become this."

"You're far too late," Yang said, before dashing forward. As she moved, she flattened her prosthetic hand, and the limb began to glow bright violet. She struck Tai with the limb, Tai bringing his arms up to guard the blow. Yang stopped behind him, and there was a beat before either of them moved. Suddenly, both of Tai's arms fell off just below the elbow, Yang's arm having cleaved cleanly through aura, flesh, and bone as if they were paper. Tai did not bleed, the heat from Yang's superheated blow cauterizing the wounds as it slashed, but he still screamed as loud as he could. Yang spun on her heel, and struck the side of Tai's abdomen, the momentum spinning the man around. She followed with a leaping uppercut into his chin that carried them both into the air, before grabbing hold of his head and slamming him back into the ground by it. Taiyang, crippled and defeated, lied groaning in the center of the room, Yang standing over him.

"Still just a bluff, Taiyang?" Yang said, her tone one of wrath.

"What… what happened to you…" Tai sputtered, "What happened to my baby girl…"

"She was hurt, Tai. She was hurt so badly that she knew she had to care for herself, when no one else would. And she did." Yang picked him up by the throat, her metal fingers wrapped around his neck. "Any last words?"

"I… won't stop fighting for you… won't stop believing in you... I love you…. Yang…."

Yang felt herself hesitate, her heart becoming heavier in her chest. "This didn't have to happen, Dad. You... didn't have to do this." A tear managed to find its way out of her eye. "Now I have to do this."

Tai looked like he was going to say something else, but he finally succumbed to suffocation and his wounds, slipping into unconsciousness. Yang closed her eyes, and crushed her grip closed. Her metal hand easily tore through the flesh, and Tai's head tumbled off her hand, rolling softly across the floor. She angrily picked up her helmet, and replaced it on her head. She breathed deep once more, and spoke in the low tone again. " _Watashi wa mohaya ningende wanai_." Her hair's glow vanished, and she felt her muscles unclench. She walked to her door, slamming it open and turning to the goon outside. "You hear any of that?" The goon shook his head. "Good. Have the body cremated. The ashes will be on my desk by tomorrow morning or I'll start… downsizing." The goon nodded and hurried off to find the right people. Yang merely went downstairs, opened the portion of her mask around her mouth, and drank until she couldn't even remember her own name anymore.

"After that, it's pretty hazy, mostly intentionally," Yang said, leaning back in her chair. "I woke up the next day with the worst hangover I'd had, and one that was only surpassed after Am was taken."

Jay was flabbergasted by the tale, barely able to respond "Fuck… Yang… I'm-"

"Oh, come on, you're missing the point!" Yang interrupted. "You're not supposed to pity me, I killed my fucking _father_!" Yang closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Everything I said to Dad then, everything I killed him for, I went back on." She opened her eyes, and sighed. "Blake and I dropped the masks after the war, Stardust is no longer a thing. I got Ruby and Qrow involved. Heh, I even kinda made it back to my old self." She looked at Jay, and managed a soft smile. "You remind me a lot of myself, back in the old days, when all I cared about was thrills. Except you've actually got drive, and conviction. You've got something to fight for, or well, against, and that's something I didn't have, or really didn't _want_." She stood up, and sat next to Jay, wiping tears brought on by the story from her face. "Listen, kiddo, I told you that story, because I don't want us walking down the same road. Say you kill Tahir, what then? You run? You're a wanted woman at that point, and you're not exactly easy to conceal. You'd have to go all the way, like I had to. And the worst part is, you totally could. I feel it, you'd do better than me out there. You're smarter than I was, fuck, probably am. You're fucking _brilliant_ , kiddo. It's why I told you it's not how, but _why_ you're gonna beat that fuck. I'd much rather see you walk the path I didn't, being the bigger woman, and proving that asshole wrong." She hugged Jay tight, and Jay reciprocated, smiling into Yang's shoulder.

"Thanks, mom." Jay's eyes, suddenly flew open, and she pulled back. "Sorry, I, just, sorry-"

"It's okay," Yang said with a snicker. "Call me whatever, except anything like Mrs. or Ma'am or shit like that. Makes me feel old." Jay joined her in laughing, and Yang stood up. "Well, there's no a snowball's chance in Vacuo you're getting to sleep for awhile, after that, so let's relax for awhile. I'll go get us something warm." Yang vanished into the kitchen, and it wasn't long before the telltale whistle of boiling water filled the room. Yang shortly thereafter returned with two steaming mugs, handing one to Jay. "Cocoa, but made with some fancy shit Blake's got hidden where she thinks I won't find it."

They both snickered, before drinking. "Where is Blake, anyway?" Jay asked.

"Oh, she was standing outside Tahir's room, in case you got past me." Jay looked at Yang with an expression of disbelief, and Yang just laughed. "What? Gotta cover all your bases, y'know?" The two shared another chuckle, and Yang stared down Jay again. "Now, your turn for a story. You're gonna tell me all about that cute Cybrid girl you're dating."

Jay smiled into her mug, and set the cup down. "You're right, we aren't getting to sleep anytime soon."

The two laughed and conversed well into the evening, before both eventually fell asleep where they sat, Jay thankful her fight with Porfirio wasn't until late in the afternoon.


	49. The Hot Wind Blows

There was a loud _clank_ as the steel bridges linking the doors of the internal colosseum to the arena itself snapped into place, and the doors slid open. Jay and Porfirio spotted each other from a distance as they both exited their chamber, and made their way towards the center arena. Unlike their other treks into the arena, neither looked around at their cheering fans, or took in the various people chanting their names. Their eyes were locked solely on one another as they reached the arena and stood opposite each other. They both knew this bout had more riding on it than simple glory. It decided who would face Tahir, who would defend Jahim, who is standing up to someone that was indisputably vile, but held all the cards. Yet, they couldn't say anything about it. It filled the fight with more tension than it needed to have, and made the silence they stood in seem to last an eternity, until Porfirio chucked into the microphone.

"Y'know," he said, tilting his head slightly. "When I first heard that the giant armoured woman that had saved my big sister would be coming to Nikos with us, I really didn't know what to expect. It certainly wasn't someone who could put me on my ass easier than anyone at Signal ever could, or someone that could be impaled by a sword made out of fire dust and still beat the leader of Dark Skies. I always grew up being the best around me, but it was good to finally have some solid competition." He chuckled again. "Though, you still never could beat me."

Jay managed to smile through her nerves, getting Porfirio's point. This battle has a lot riding on it, but it's still the culmination of their efforts. A definitive test on who's better. Strength versus speed, technique versus cunning. Jay raised her arms, and assumed her standard stance. "Well, the bettors have called my fights wrong every time thus far. Odds were in my opponent's favour every round we've fought. And looking at the bets right now," she said, glancing at a chalkboard at the top of one set of stands, "the betting odds are 1:21 in your favour. I wonder if my pattern'll hold."

"My aunt certainly thinks so," he said, getting into his own stance, arms and legs suddenly blazing with the purple fires of his semblance. "I wanna find out for myself."

The roar of the crowd returned to Jay's ears, and her wide grin re-emerged. The gong sounded, and they both flew at each other, fists prepared to blows collided, both fists impacting into each other with an audible thud. Porfirio pushed off, leaping back as he gathered and launched a ball of flame at Jay. She quickly raised her hard light barrier to block it, before running after Porfirio and launching a roundhouse kick that impacted on his airborne frame. Porfirio tumbled to the ground, quickly hopping up in time to block a powerful axe kick from Jay with his forearms. He chuckled, suddenly vanishing before reappearing over Jay's head, and using his Dust to thrust his frame downward in a brutal headstomp. He leapt off her head, the force of the jump knocking Jay to the ground. She got back up, and rubbed her head, looking at Porfirio. "One to one," she said, counting their knockdowns before resuming her stance. "Cute trick."

"You're not the only one who learned new tricks on the past 3 months," Porfirio said. "My semblance is like one of those fighting games Nero's _way_ too good at. There's so many possibilities with it."

"Didn't know Nero played Avenue Brawler," Jay said with a chuckle. "Isn't your mom a guest character in that game?"

"Yeah, but I can't figure her out for my life. You have to move the joystick in a full circle for one of her moves! How do you do that without jum-" Porfirio was cut off when a sweeping elbow blow struck his cheek knocked him spinning to the ground.

"Two to one," Jay said with a smirk.

"Dirty shot," Porfirio said, before launching himself forward at Jay. The two began trading blows, both of their barehanded styles of combat clashing full-frontal for the first time in months. Porfirio's blows were quick, but Jay's defense was stronger, deftly blocking fiery attacks from numerous angles before retaliating with blows hard enough to shave off Porfirio's aura even through his block. Their clashing continued for nearly half a minute before Jay managed to deflect a strike rather than block it, knocking Porfirio off his balance. She took the opportunity to grab hold of his head, and lift him into the air. She kneed him in the groin swiftly three times, letting go on the third to let him fall backward with the force of the strike. Porfirio stood with a groan, shaking his head, and for the first time that Jay had ever seen, uncurling his tail from around his waist and letting it rest naturally behind him.

"What is you girl's problem with my balls?" He said, his voice squeakier than usual.

"Not my fault, you leave it so open," Jay said with a snicker.

Porfirio looked at the aura readings, seeing he was a full 20 percent behind her. He closed her eyes, and breathed deep. "You're way stronger than you used to be, man. Looks like I'm gonna have to bust out my fancy trick."

"You gonna stop talking like a cartoon character and actually do it, or what?" Jay said.

Porfirio chuckled, before the fires on his arms and legs began to expand. They coated his entire body, his features disappearing under the violet fire. The blaze encompassed his head, with his eyes and mouth now being pure white outlines of what they would be. The flames around his feet began to surge brighter, and he lifted off the ground, the white outline of his mouth twisting into a smile as the crowd reached a fever pitch. He began to speak, the fire distorting his voice somewhat.

"I would _not_ wanna be you today!"

"This is new," Jay said, before Porfirio tossed a fiery sphere at her. She attempted to swat it away, but found that it had stuck to her forearm. Her confused gaze on the globe made her fail to notice Porfirio surging at her, his entire body's weight hitting her chest as he was propelled forward by his flames. He struck her several times, the fires dancing along his body licking her aura to shreds as she failed to block the assault. She finally caught one of his strikes and attempted to retaliate, only to find her strike sailing through air. She spun around in time to see Porfirio stretch his arms out, and grin like a madman.

"Sorry, but I prefer my bird _fried!_ " he shouted before loosing jets of flame from his hands. Jay began to sprint out of the way, the directed fires trailing behind her as she extended her wings and took flight towards Porfirio. She sailed towards him, leg outstretched in a flying kick, but Porfirio simply floated out of the way, his control over his aerial momentum far stronger than Jay's. As she sailed past him, he stuck another globe of fire to her, this time on her other forearm, before teleporting to her destination and kicking her back to the arena. He floated down to her, his arms crossed and grin wide.

"This hardly seems like a fair fight, a girl with no semblance versus some kinda literal fire god," Jay said as she rose to her feet.

"Maybe that's why the bettors aren't siding with you," Porfirio said. "You are kind of a tough act to sell."

"Well, I'm still ahead on knockdowns," Jay said, raising her arms once more.

"You sure?" Porfirio said, before snapping his fingers. As he did, the globes on Jay's forearms exploded, the force of the blasts knocking her to the ground. As she landed, she saw that their auras were dead even at around 40 percent each. "Tie game, Merletta."

Jay rose to her feet, assuming her stance. She depressed a switch on the side of her armour, before speaking up. "In more ways than one." She stood still, waiting for Porfirio to dive at her, and he eventually did, his fiery kicks and punches clashing with her savage elbows and knees. After several seconds of this clashing, their fists managed to impact directly into one another again, the sound echoing through the stadium. Jay and Porfirio both grimaced, their effort to crush the other fighter's offense. "You're stronger than I gave you credit for," Jay said through her gritted teeth.

"Or maybe you're just running on fumes," Porfirio said. "Either way," he continued, before vanishing again. Jay predicted a repeat of his previous attack, and raised her guard above her, only to be shocked when Porfirio landed directly in front of her. The force of the impact shook the entire floating arena, denting the ground and knocking Jay into the air. Porfirio rose up, and grabbed Jay by the head. "This is finished!" He shouted, before plunging his other hand into Jay's armoured gut. Suddenly, the fire covering Porfirio's body flowed into the palm of the hand that had struck Jay. There was a beat of silence, then a plume of violet flame exploded from Jay's back, impacting against the force field behind her, before ceasing. Porfirio removed his hand, and Jay fell to her knees, her body shaking as she tried to move her suit.

"There," Porfirio said, panting as he landed, "that was all I had. I'm all outta juice. Looks like it was enough though."

"Why… can't I move?" Jay shouted, shaking her body in an attempt to make her suit obey

"I took a shot in the dark," Porfirio said, " and guessed that you'd switched your suit to dust powering rather than aura powering, because you were lower than you wanted to be. That explosion traveled over every inch of you and your suit before surging out, and it hit all of the dust in the power ducts. Your suit's dust was converted to my purple kind, and jettisoned out with the rest of mine." He pointed to the aura readouts, showing Jay at a mere 2% from elimination. "And you don't have enough aura to spare. This is over."

Jay shook her head. "Wanna bet?" She ducked her chin, striking a small button underneath the collar of her suit. A small port in the back of it opened, and a small, tubelike object shot out of it and into the air. Porfirio's eyes were trained on it, causing him to be caught off guard when Jay's suit used the last of its residual power and rapidly folded back into her pack, save for the metal on her right arm. She stood up, clad in a simple tank and shorts usually worn for workouts, and raised her still-armoured appendage, catching the object out of the air. Porfirio could now clearly see it was a sword in its scabbard, one that looked eerily familiar.

"No way…" Porfirio said, as Jay ran forward, bringing the sword to her hip and her hand firmly on the handle. Porfirio used what strength he had left to swing at Jay, but was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. The origin of the shot was the sword's scabbard, and after it rang out, a slender, crimson blade surged from it at a speed Porfirio couldn't react to. It's edge raked across his aura, knocking him back and dropping him a full 15 percent, down to a mere 25. Any hit, from either party, now spelled defeat.

"You know," he said, "using that sword on a Xiao Long is a bit… insensitive."

"This isn't the same sword that injured your mothers, Porfirio," Jay said, before depressing a switch on the handle. The sword's red colour became a pale white, before Jay sheathed it once more. Another gunshot rang out, this time coming from the other end of the scabbard to propel Jay forward. She stopped right in front of Porfirio, and grinned. "This is Amaryllis," Jay said, before shooting the blade out again. The force of the draw created a whirlwind, that carried Porfirio into the air. Jay flapped her wings, carrying her up to him. "Watch it bloom." She continued to strike, each slash sending out another powerful gust, before bringing the blade down on Porfirio, the resulting cyclone blasting him down to earth, and draining the last of his aura. Jay twirled the sword, before sheathing it, and raising her fist to the air, the sound of the crowd threatening to damage her hearing. The commentators, barely able to be heard, spoke over the intercom.

"Unbelieveable!" Yang shouts, "Jay defeats Porfirio in a dead even clash, and will be the opponent for Tahir Farid in the final round!"

Jay heard the words, and a menagerie of emotions filled her. Fear was there, but so was drive, and hope. But most of all, it was pride that swelled in Jay, and what told her that her battle with Tahir would be legendary.

"Okay, you're telling me how that sword works, and you're doing it now."

Alice and Jay were walking back to their dorm, Jay having been cleared by the medics for her fight tomorrow, and the others still enjoying the festival.

"You want the long version, or the version without all the engineer babble?" Jay said, laughing at her own lame humour.

"The latter, I'd like us not to be here all day," Alice said, knowing full well most of what went into the sword was above her. She knew she wasn't dumb by any means, but still, sometimes Jay's mind just fascinated her. How the girl can build a nine feet tall suit of armour for her _armour_ to wear out of scrap metal and welding tools, while at the same time being the most flustered, adorable mess of a girl in love she'd ever met was beyond her.

"Well, the blade was already dust-infused metal. I had thought it was pure dust, but it's actually the product of an ancient smithing technique I'd thought was long extinct. This sword's blade has to be centuries old." She realized she was 'nerding out,' as Alice loved to put it, and continued. "Anyway, the metal reacts to the dust that's injected into it, which was always Fire when it was in the enemy's hands. I took inspiration from one of the weapons in those damned RWBY movies you guys made me watch, and added a rotating dust cylinder. Think of it like a merging of Weiss's sword with that Raven Branwen character's."

"You know," Alice said, bringing a hand to her chin in a form of mock pondering, "I think I actually understood that." She laughed and took Jay's hand, making her blush furiously. "First time for everything, right?"

"R-right," Jay stammered with a nervous chuckle. She knew Alice was reveling in this, in her inability to cope well with affection. It wasn't so bad at first, but had gotten significantly worse since returning home. She wondered if it had to do with the fact that she knew tomorrow was coming, that there wasn't this overhanging feeling that death is coming. She knew that, and now she could go back to being flustered over the feeling of love, not just being glad it was there to alleviate her terror.

They reached their dorm, and Jay opened the door, and stepped inside. She set a small file on Donovan's bed, it being her meager medical report from the short visit. "Well, that's done, let's head back down to the festival." She turned to the door, and began walking out. "I'm sure the gang's waiti-"

Jay was halted when a firm hand wrapped around her wrist, Alice's grip stopping her progress. "Wait, Jay, there's…" She sighed. " There's something I want to talk to you about."

Jay turned to her, and saw Alice's face with an expression it rarely had; nervousness. This was obviously something she would be dreading to discuss. "What is it?" she said, taking a seat on her bed. Alice walked over, sitting next to Jay, and spoke softly.

"When Jahim was… coming out, yesterday, I noticed your body language changing as he told his story. Your fists were clenched, your eyes subtly twitched, your breathing even slowed tremendously."

"You're getting better at spotting little things," Jay said.

"That's not the point, but thank you," Alice said. "The thing is, the anger started when Jahim talked about his father. Why… why did it make you so angry?"

Jay felt said anger swirling in her again, threatening to boil over once more. She took a deep breath, and shut her eyes. "It was because..." she tried the best she could to get it out, feeling her anger growing. "Because…." her fists balled, and her teeth grit together. She opened her mouth to talk again, but found no sound coming out but a grunt as her hand lashed out, attempting to slam itself onto the bed. It was caught by Alice, who placed her other hand over Jay's heart.

"Jay, please, talk to me." She released Jay's arm, and moved closer, enveloping her in a hug. "Tell me what's hurting you."

Jay paused, and was quiet for some time. When she finally spoke, it was quiet, almost a whisper. "It's not fair."

"What?" Alice asked.

"I said it's not fair!" Jay said, her voice choking on a sob that caught Alice by surprise. She noticed tears beginning to flow down Jay's cheeks. "Why? Why does that rich asshole get to sit pretty, keeping one of my closest friends hostage until he can sell him for _drugs_ , when my father, my family, my _village_ … everyone…" she felt her anger return, pushing her palms into her eyes in a futile attempt to stop the tears. "Why did my family have to die?" she managed to squeak out. "Why did hundreds of innocent people, that never did anything but trade, and talk, and live with humans have to get killed? Why didn't they kill me? Why? _Why?_ " She looked at Alice, tears staining her face. "Why did they leave me alive?" she said, her voice weak. "Why couldn't I have died instead of mom, or dad, or Falco, or Cardy, or anyone else? Why was I so special? Why? Why…" she said, her voice disappearing into her sobs once more.

Alice was at a complete loss, she hadn't seen Jay like this in so long, not since the attack on the comms tower, where she and Amber had been the only survivors. The pattern suddenly connected in her head, and she pulled Jay in tighter. "Jay, there wasn't anything you could have done," she said, "you were a kid."

"I was thirteen," Jay managed to choke out. "I-I was still strong. I could have been fighting. Maybe-"

"Jay, you would have died!" Alice shouted.

"Well then maybe someone else would have lived!" Jay shouted back. "Someone who can protect their friends better than me! Someone who doesn't seize up like a scared dog at the sight of someone trying to kill her friend! Someone who doesn't get over 400 people killed because she made a shit plan!" She paused, her breath hitching on lingering sobs. "I… I asked Jaune for census data, about… us. The Avians." Her head dipped lower, her sniffling a sign that the tears were returning. "There are 6 known to be left. There were 25,000 before 6 years ago. Most of them are old, some of them are crippled, but there's one thing that I didn't know. There's only one female left. Me." She shook her head, looking at Alice. "The others were escapees, people they would have killed. They… they skipped over me. They knew something. They wanted something from me. It has…. It has to be _my_ fault!" Jay said, beginning to shout again. "They did it, they killed them _all_ , because of me! If I had gone in with them, died on the front, maybe it would have ruined their mission. They would have stopped the killings." She moved her eyes from Alice, unable to look at her. "Why… what's special about me?"

"You're brilliant, for one," Alice said, making Jay snap to her. "You're the smartest person I know, you could make a tank out of an old jeep and some sheet metal."

"Alice…" Jay began, but was interrupted.

"You're also strong, and not just in the buff way that gets distracting when your shirt's off," Alice said, "your will is so unbreakable. You've been shot, slashed, and _impaled_ and kept fighting. You fought through a woman with an impenetrable defense. I've never seen you give up."

"A-Alice…" Jay tried to begin again, her voice warbling as she was again cut off.

"A-and you're caring, beyond anyone has any right to deserve," Alice said, her own voice slipping into sobs. "You know the storms scare me, so you take me and comfort me. You help me with things I can't do, tell me things I won't see, describe to me sights and sensations I'll never be able to feel, and it becomes so _real_. You had every right to tear Knightshade limb from limb, but when you saw it was a manipulated, lost kid, you took her home, got them help, and guided her on the path to redeeming herself. You left in the middle of the night to defend the honour of someone who couldn't defend it themself. And… and you're the girl that saw past my freakish arms and my disabilities and all my issues and looked at me like a _person_. You taught me what love was like, something I'll never be able to forget."

"A-Al…"

"You've touched so many lives, Jay. I can't think of a moment in the past six months that's a happy memory that wasn't because you were there. You're a war hero, kicking Dark Skies to the curb and letting democracy rule in Atlas again. You're a badass, you're kind, you're the best girlfriend I could imagine. So I hear you saying these things, these awful things, and it hurts. It hurts because I would give anything for you to see you like I do, like Jahim does, like Donovan or anyone else does." She hung to Jay like she would fall to her death if she let go, and it certainly felt that way. "I know that it hurts. That life isn't fair, that Jahim has to suffer because of his family. That's why he needs Nero, and Donovan, and me, and you. I know I need you."

It took Jay nearly a full minute to move again, before she took Alice by the shoulders, pulling her back to look at her. Her blindfold was stained with tears around her eyes, and Jay quickly pulled on its knot and removed the cloth from her face. Alice's eyes fluttered open, the area around the pale blue spheres red and puffy from the crying. Jay realized Alice was trying her hardest to point her eyes at Jay's own, to try to look into her eyes in some attempt to connect through a sense she didn't have. The gesture made Jay's pain seem to melt away, and brought a soft smile to her face. Alice noticed, and smiled back, Jay seeing the rare sight of Alice's eyes moving and expressing with the rest of her face. Jay began to lean forward, Alice closing the distance, both of them smiling through the brief kiss, parting sooner than either of them wanted to.

"I think I need you more," Jay said, brushing hair out of Alice's face.

"You try saying that when you can't read Xiao Long's textbook," Alice said, reducing the both of them to giggles. "Can I…" Alice began, hesitating slightly, "can I ask about them?'

Jay paused as well, before grinning softly. "My mother, Freyja, she was something. She was a guardswoman for Yata-Garasu's chief, and a damned good one at that. She's where I got most of my moves from. There was an old rumor that she once killed a Deathstalker in one kick." She chuckled, shaking her head. "She wasn't all that tall, if you can believe that, but I did get her, well," she gestured to her bust, enjoying the small blush that formed on Alice's face. "I got the height from my dad. Atticus was a fuckin' _mountain_. I'm taller than he was, but he was _big_. I'm talking Amber's bulk on my frame. He wasn't a fighter though, he was a smith. I helped him in the forge, and he taught me his tricks, and I started to make my own. I… I think I was probably gonna be a smith, had all that not happened." She shook her head. "Falco and Cardy were twins, both 3 years older than me. They were identical until their feathers came in, Falco's blue and Cardy's red. They got Dad's feathers, I got mom's. Mom was a crow, Dad was a parrot."

"Your dad was a parrot?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, it is kinda funny," Jay said, managing a chuckle, before sighing. "I miss them so much. I think about Mom fighting those Dark Skies punks outside of the house to protect me way too often." She shuddered, and Alice pulled her in tighter, making Jay calm down and smile. "They would have loved you, I know it. Dad woulda seen tiny little you and just picked you up and hugged you, then throw out his back because you're surprisingly heavy." Alice giggled, making Jay blush. "Falco and Cardy would probably try to fight you for my 'honour', 'cause they were nerds like that. You could kick their asses. Mom… Mom woulda been beside herself, man. She loved when I was with someone when I was young, but if she saw us now, she'd be all teary eyed and happy n' shit. I mean, she'd also be polishing firearms on the couch when you came to visit, but still." They both laughed, only calming down after nearly a minute. "I miss them so much. I'd give… I'd give anything to bring them back, to have them see you, _us_ , and all our friends. I know Mom and Yang would be the best friends in the world, and Dad would punch Tahir's bitch lights out."

"You're making them proud," Alice said, snuggling deep into the crook of Jay's grip. "They're gonna be rooting for you, tomorrow. We all are."

Jay hugged Alice tight, kissing her forehead lightly, before leaning down a giving her a kiss proper. She broke away, and rested her forehead against Alice's. "I know, and I won't disappoint."


	50. The Hanged Man

Jay's eyes fluttered open, waking without an alarm. She felt something in her hair, and turned her head, smiling when she found the source of her rousing. Alice sat next to her, her back against Jay's headboard while she absent-mindedly played with Jay's hair while she slept. Noticing Jay begin to stir, Alice smiled, and continued to mess with Jay's short cut.

"Good morning," Alice said, turning her head to face Jay, "is what I would say, but it's a bit late for that." Alice giggled. "Your match isn't until 3. We all thought you deserved to sleep in. Boss wanted me to wake you up after noon though."

Jay smiled, sitting up next to her girlfriend. Her blindfold was still off, and for the first time, Jay was able to appreciate Alice's eyes without the redness that comes from crying. "Thanks," she said, leaning over and kissing Alice's forehead. "What time is it, by the way?"

"Around quarter past noon." Jay gave her a stern, if joking, look, and Alice giggled again. "Sorry, but you were too cute to wake. You sleep very peacefully."

Jay laughed with her, and shook her head. "You're too susceptible to my charm, Al."

"We've all got our weaknesses," Alice said, leaning against Jay's shoulder. "Mine just happens to be you. And rain."

"Yeah, we've all got weaknesses," Jay said, her tone softening somewhat. "Including that that big bearded asshole."

"You can beat him," Alice said, wrapping her arm around Jay's. "I know you can."

"Well, that makes one of us," Jay said. "I just need to figure it out, what his catch is, and I can do it. I _need_ to do it. For me, for us, for Gloria." She looked at Alice. "For Jahim."

Alice snuggled into Jay's arm, making Jay redden. "It's almost nice that our nemesis isn't some terror organization or a corrupt dictator that's also our friend's grandpa for once. He's just an asshole." Alice paused. "Well, he _does_ kinda have an entire city behind him, and controls Jahim's life, and is almost unkillable." Alice felt Jay glaring at her. "Well, at least you won't get impaled this time?" She shook her head. "I'm just gonna stop now."

"Don't worry about it," Jay said, kissing Alice's forehead again. Alice used her free hand to grab onto Jay's face, and pull her down for a deeper kiss, before breaking away. Jay smiled, leaning her head against Alice's. "Y'know, if I didn't have one of the most important fights of my life in three hours, that challenge you just made would not go unanswered."

"Consider it an incentive to come out of there having kicked his ass," Alice said, before disentangling herself from Jay and standing up. "C'mon, you need to get up and moving."

Jay rolled her eyes and groaned, before complying, and making her way towards the showers.

Jay knew she should probably be taking it all in. She stood in the arena, the metal bridges receding as the crowd around her cheered, as the commentators shouted her name, as fists raised into the air in a symbol of support to her. She should be joining them, cheering with them, and reveling in her success. She should at the very least be smiling, happy and proud of her achievement of making it to the finals. Instead, her gaze was stern, and locked on the man opposite her. Tahir Faird stood opposite her on the platform, the space seeming smaller now that two giants stood upon it. He stood in his standard garb, his robes and prayer beads swaying with the light breeze that was simulated via air conditioning within the force field. He stood with his hands behind his back, his own eyes fixed on Jay, who was already enveloped in her suit. Tahir was the one to break the silence, his calm tone matching his demeanor.

"It seems I was right. There was something about you, for you to get past Dume and Xiao Long."

"What can I say?" Jay said, her voice cheery as usual despite the grimace on her face. "I'm a lot harder to put down than most people anticipate." She gestured vaguely to the scars adorning her face. "I'm covered in proof of that."

"Indeed you are," Tahir said. "I get the distinction that this will be a more interesting fight than my previous final fights."

"Man, you sound like a cartoon," Jay said, finally cracking a smile. "Next you'll say 'I may even have to use a full 10% of my power' or some shit." She assumed her stance, her grin receding. "Come on. Bettors are 50:1 in your favour. Come back that up."

Tahir merely chuckled, as silence once again filled the air. The gong sounded, and Tahir vanished from Jay's sightline. Jay immediately spun on her heel, following through on a punch that connected squarely with the face of a recently-reappeared Tahir directly behind her. As he reeled from the blow, she rotated on her other leg, a savage roundhouse knocking Tahir to the ground.

"You gonna try being less predictable?" Jay said around the roaring crowd, as Tahir rose to his feet. "I mean, that had to be a test right?"

Tahir once again vanished, and Jay turned around again, only to catch a blow to the back of her head, Tahir having manifested in front of where she was originally facing. Tahir followed with a string of blows to Jay's back, before grabbing her collar and throwing her across the arena. Tahir vanished again, reappearing along Jay's flight path to deliver an uppercut to her abdomen, rapidly shifting her momentum and sending her spiraling into the air. Tahir lept into the air, landing an axe kick onto her sternum and sending her crashing back onto the land. Tahir himself landed with a loud thud, shaking the ground as his frame collided with the concrete. Jay quickly hopped back to her feet. She glanced at the aura meters, and found Tahir had shredded a full 15% of her aura with a single string of attacks.

"Not bad for someone who doesn't have a weapon," Jay said, wiping sweat from her forehead.

"You are wrong," Tahir said, slamming his fist across his own chest. "The body is our strongest weapon. You should understand that well, for someone of your skill."

"Alright then, how about this?" Jay said, before disengaging her armour, the pack ejecting her sword before collapsing fully. She tossed the sheathed blade aside, and reassumed her stance. "If you want to preach about the body or some shit, then let's do this old school. No weapons. No semblances. My body versus yours."

Tahir raised his eyebrow, before beginning to laugh. "An ambitious request. Do you trust me that much?"

"Not really," Jay said, "but I know you're someone who hold honour pretty damned high, and pride even more. What will the people think if you don't take this challenge?" Jay smirked. "They'll accept it, but they'll always wonder, what if?"

"Enough," Tahir interrupted, the joy vanishing from his tone and face. "If this is how you wish to do this, then it is how it will be done." He raised both fists in front of him, planting his feet firmly. "Come on."

Jay ran forward, and threw a punch that glanced off of Tahir's block. Tahir responded by sweeping his elbow upward, the edge hitting Jay in the chin. He then kicked his foot upward, again connecting with Jay's head, before attempting to bring it down in another axe kick to her head. Jay instead caught the foot, and used the opportunity to kick Tahir in the groin. The impact sent him staggering backward, allowing Jay to follow up with a second kick, this time connecting with Tahir's face. Tahir staggered, but remained on his feet, his expression looking less composed. Tahir extended both arms in an attempt to grab Jay, and Jay locked arms with him, both standing their ground and grimacing as the pushed against each other.

"I can't tell if you're stronger or weaker than I expected," Jay spat through her gritted teeth.

"Shut your mouth and _fight!_ " Tahir shouted, before slamming his head down into Jay's, causing her to stagger and break the armlock. Tahir threw his entire body forward in a shoulder tackle into Jay, before planting his foot and slamming his fist into Jay's neck, immediately grounding her. "You're all the same, thinking wit is a substitute for technique. Patheti-"

Tahir was cut off by Jay's foot burying itself into his groin once more, before Jay jumped to her feet and struck Tahir's head with her elbow. As he staggered, Jay grabbed him with both of her hands and threw him behind her, Tahir's goliath frame tumbling as it hit the ground. Tahir picked himself up off the ground, his face now twisted in anger, and Jay grinned.

"You were saying something about talking too much, I think?" Jay said, with a chuckle. Tahir merely let out an angry shout, beginning to run towards Jay. Jay merely lept, and drove her knee into Tahir's chest as she soared, before landing and bringing her fist up in an uppercut to Tahir's chin. Tahir flopped to the ground, and Jay lept back and laughed. "You really aren't much without your semblance, are you?"

Tahir grunted from his position on the ground, before vanishing. Jay's eyes widened, shocked that he would shatter his honour and pride like that, before Tahir appeared behind her. He struck the base of her neck, before grabbing onto the pack on her back, and tearing Transcendance free from the straps that bound it. He lobbed it away, before striking Jay with enough force to send her stumbling forward. "You speak so low of me, yet you have no semblance of your own!" He reappeared in front of her, driving his fist into her gut. "You're nothing more that someone with some talent and tactics, thinking they are better than others because they don't 'need' strength or power!" As Jay attempted to retaliate, Tahir caught her fist, twisting the arm before slamming her to the ground by it, and striking her while she's down. "You making it this far is a testament to how weak this new breed of fighters is, a group bred thinking they're special, that they can save the world with any powers they have, no matter how useless!" Jay attempted to hop up, but Tahir planted his sandal on her shoulder, compressing her down onto her knees. "People like you are why I've hand trained my sister for so long!" Jay's eyes bulged in her sockets at the comment, prompting Tahir to chuckle. "Oh, you didn't even know? The one you work with ' _Jahim'_?" he said with a mocking tone, "She's my sister, Hamr ā, her mind poisoned into thinking she can survive here without me." He drove his foot in further. "Poisoned by people like you, people who don't know that _strength_ is above all!" He moved his hand over the vials of Dust on his waist, and all of the dust within them flowed out with no resistance. He raised the hand, and over his open palm, the Dust merged and swirled into a floating ball of energy, one that crackled with power. "Bear witness!" he shouted over the noise the sphere was making. "This is _my_ strength, and this is the fate of people who are not strong enough to survive!"

Jay looked up, and closed her eyes. If what he did to Gloria was with the intent to kill, then surely this was too. There wasn't anything she could do; with the foot on her shoulder pinning her left arm down, meaning she only had one arm to stop the attack. She resigned to her fate, and allowed the sphere of dust to descend on her. As it impacted onto her, however, there was nothing. She opened her eyes, seeing Tahir still generating the sphere.

"Bear witness!" he shouted again, in the same tone as before. "This is _my_ strength, and this is the fate of people who are not strong enough to survive!"

Jay was confused beyond all measure, but flinched in fear as he slammed the orb down yet again. Once again, there was no sensation, and she opened her eyes to a now familiar scene.

"Bear witness! This is _my_ strength, and this is the fate of people who are not strong enough to survive!" Tahir shouted again.

 _Oh, okay_ , Jay thought, _so this is the afterlife. Reliving your death over and over again. Fuck that._ Jay decided to try to catch the orb this time, raising her hand to the sphere, and having everything go dark when it detonated against her hand. She opened her eyes again.

"Bear witness!"

 _Well that didn't work._ Jay thought. _May as well explore my options while I rot here for the rest of time._ This time, Jay attempted to grab Tahir's wrist, and stopped the orb dead in its tracks. She gasped in surprise at her success, giving Tahir enough time to use his other hand and force the explosion into her skull. Jay rolled her eyes before opening them again.

"Bear witness!"

 _Okay, don't gloat in the face of the gods' torment, got it_. Jay again grabbed his wrist, and with all of her strength, stood up against Tahir's leg. She shouted, and drove Tahir's hand into his own face, the explosion smearing his head across the wall, before making her black out seemingly out of nowhere. She opened her eyes again, and was immediately disappointed.

"Bear witness!"

 _As much as I wanna waste this fuckhead, it looks like that's not gonna change anything._ Jay, for good measure, repeated her actions, and found herself in the same situation yet again.

"Bear witness!"

 _If I ever have to hear that phrase again if I get out of this, I'm gonna kill someone._ Jay once again grabbed Tahir's arm, this time driving the explosion into the ground at his feet. The grounding of the blast helped to lessen the impact, the blast merely knocking them both away, and draining significant portions of both their auras. She stood up, wondering if Tahir was down for good, when Tahir materialized in front of her and punched her as he did Gloria, turning her vision black. Jay opened her eyes, and found her purgatory continued even further.

"Bear witness!"

 _Fucking fuck._ Jay repeated what she had done, picking herself up from the dust once more. This time, she avoided the surging punch that materialized in front of her, and retaliated by kicking Tahir in the stomach, making him stumble back. Jay was glad she had avoided the impact, until another one from behind her, after Tahir had appeared there, sent her back to her knees, awaiting the explosion.

"Bear witness!"

 _There has to be an end,_ Jay thought, as she went through the motions again, this time dodging the second blow only to meet a third. The next time, she met the fourth blow. Over and over again, Jay would repeat her actions, act out a fight that's been predetermined, and each time meeting the same scene when she would fail. It took twenty seven attempts, dodging a full twenty five separate attacks before Jay's last counterattack left Tahir staggering in place. She ran forward, and using her wings, jumped into an uppercut that carried Tahir into the air several feet, before he fell to the ground. Jay landed, and looked at the aura meters. Tahir's was flat empty, and he wasn't getting back up.

She'd done it. She'd won.

She only got a moment of celebration, before everything went white. Her vision became clear again, and she found herself once more on her knees, looking at Tahir and that same, damned sphere.

"Bear witness!"

 _No, no no! I won!_ Jay thought, in a brief moment of anger. She looked up, and noticed a searing pain in her left eye, barely being able to see out of it. She closed it in pain, before grabbing Tahir's list. _Whatever, I've got this fuck's number_. She went through the motions once more, even with only one eye. Driving the sphere into the ground, rising from the explosion, before stopping all of Tahir's attacks, countering each one. When her last counterattack staggered Tahir, she repeated her uppercut from her last attempt, seeing Tahir land in the same way as he had. She looked again, seeing his aura was indeed at 0 percent. She waited, waited for it to fade again, to hear those _damned_ two words again.

"Jay wins!" Yang excitedly shouted, "Jay Merletta wins the Vytal Tournament!"

Jay jumped, the words the first new ones she'd heard in what felt like an eternity. She'd done it. She'd broken free of the torment. She'd won. She'd avenged Gloria. She'd saved Jahim.

Jay raised her arm into the air, the entire stadium following suit. She reveled in the deafening cheer, before walking over to Tahir's prone form. She frowned, standing over him, as he coughed and sputtered.

"There's no way…" he said, his voice quiet. "What… what are you…"

"I'm everything you're not," Jay said. "I'm the sole female survivor of an entire race's extermination. I'm the mercenary that lived on her own for years before finally finding a home. I'm the soldier who took a stab to the stomach, and still defeated the leader of the terrorist organization." She smirked. "I'm the huntress that lost an eye, apparently," she said, still unable to see anything from her left eye, "and still beat you." She shook her head. "You made all this big talk, about how only the strong survive, but Jahim told me everything about you. You've never fought for your life, you don't know what it's like to fight to survive, to hunt for food to _live_. You can preach about strength all you want, but you don't know the first thing about survival."

Jay turned around, walking towards the way off the platform, when Tahir suddenly appeared in front of her. His hand wrapped around her throat, hoisting her into the air as she gasped for air.

"Insolent _bitch_ ," Tahir spat, his grip tightening. "A _woman_ trying to lecture me on strength? Laughable. Die like the insect you are."

Jay felt Tahir's grip tighten further, until a gunshot tore through the air. Tahir shouted and dropped Jay, clutching the freshly torn hole in his bicep. Jay fell to the ground, coughing as air once again entered her lungs, and looked for where the shooter was. The position of the hole on Tahir's arm led her gaze to the commentator's booth, of all places, and to see that Ruby Rose herself had broken the glass in front of her, before using her sniper-sword to stop Tahir. Armed guards quickly surrounded the pair, before helping Jay to her feet. Tahir breathed hard, before shooting a death stare at Jay.

"This isn't over, this is _far_ from over!" Tahir shouted as he was being bandaged and dragged away. "The entire weight of Kasbah is coming for you, Hamr ā! And for you, Merletta! You _will_ die! My sister _will_ return to Kasbah!"

Jay stared at him being dragged into the darkness, before allowing the guards to take her off the stage. She rested, and wiped her left eye, her hand coming back with blood. She contemplated if it was repairable, until being surprised by a flurry of petals landing next to her. Ruby materialized from the blur, grabbing onto her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"Other than my eye, I'll manage."

"Good, we need you, right now." Ruby said, her voice panicked.

"What? Why?"

"Jahim ran," Ruby said. "He's at the stadium airdocks, and he's locked the doors into them. He's going to jump."

Jay's eyes opened wide. "You disabled the force field to make that shot, right?"

"Yeah, why-"

Ruby was cut off by a strong gust of wind, as Jay took off, flying as hard as she could out of the room and to the airdocks.

Jahim stood on the edge of the airdocks, looking downward at the ground far below him. He estimated, through calculations he remembered from his time in Schnee's army, that he was around ninety feet off the ground.

 _Plenty high enough_ , he thought, and swallowed hard. The howling winds around him weren't loud enough to drown out the other noise, the pounding on the bulkhead that divided him from the many people on the other side. They couldn't be here. No one could. They'd stop him, and he _needed_ to do this. For all of them. His mind wandered as to who would be behind the door, his fists clenching when he thought of his friends, of Nero… _This is for them the most_. He took a moment, a last moment, to breathe in air, to close his eyes, before he was startled by a loud _thud_ behind him. He turned around, and Jay stood behind him, her wings spread wide, and blood running from her left eye. As Jahim looked at it closer, the entire eye was glassed over, and seemed almost crystalline, like a diamond. Jay didn't seem to mind it, because Jahim couldn't feel any pain in her tone when she spoke.

"Jahim, get away from the edge."

Jahim closed his eyes, thinking that he should have known. He opened them, and looked directly into Jay's eyes. "I have to, Jay. I can't go back to Kasbah."

"You won't!" Jay shouted over the wind. "We can fight them, Jahim. We won't let them take you."

"Then it's a war, and war means death and sadness," Jahim said, "and sadness means Grimm." He looked at the ground briefly, before returning his gaze to Jay. "An entire army coming here, ready to wage war, with a Grimm horde soon to follow. People _will_ die, Jay, I can't be responsible for that."

"Jahim, you're not-"

"Then tell me, why aren't they here now?" Jahim screamed. "Why weren't they here yesterday, or the day before, or ever? There's a new factor, and it's _me_."

"There's another way Jahim," Jay pleaded, "There's always another way."

"There's really not," Jahim said. "Either I resist, and people die, or I submit to them to save all of you. And I can't go back. But," he said with a pause, "but if I'm… gone, they won't bother coming. Everyone is okay. It's the only way to make sure… sure everyone makes it."

"Jahim," Jay said, stretching her arm out. "Please, please just think about this!"

Jahim sighed. "I have." He closed his eyes. "Goodbye, Jay."

There was a beat, where there was nothing but the sound of the wind as Jahim fell backward and off of the platform. Before she could even process it, she was in a full-tilt sprint, diving off the platform herself. She closed her eyes, thinking that maybe what happened with Tahir wasn't some curse, but was something she could do again. With this in mind, she reached her hand out, reaching toward him. He had a head start, and her larger frame and wings meant she had more drag, but still, if she could flatten her body enough, maybe… just maybe…

Jay couldn't reach him, both of them hitting the ground at near terminal velocity. Jay opened her eyes, and she was back in the air, sailing towards Jahim. This time she tried flapping her wings to gain on him, but when she spread them, the sudden drag caused her to slow tremendously, and caused her to lose Jahim again. She shut her eyes, and she was falling again, this time careful to flatten her wings as much as she could before flapping. She managed to catch up with him, grabbing him just before they both hit the ground.

She continued, trying several different approaches, all either having Jahim or them both dying on impact. If only she weren't as broad, if only she had more distance to fall, if only he wasn't falling so damned _perfectly_. After her what felt like her thousandth attempt, she finally grasped it.

 _There's no way_ , she thought. _There's no way to save him and for both of us to live_.

That attempt, the world around her faded to white, and she was falling once more. She closed her eyes again, and spread her wings wide, coming to a standstill flight while she let Jahim fall. She descended, and landed next to his body. He had landed spread-eagle, so his head was intact. She pressed her head to his chest, and felt no heartbeat. She immediately began CPR, as a horrified crowd around her looked on, some calling ambulances.

 _28,29,30, come on!_ She screamed in her own head. _Come on!_

She was still pumping his chest when the paramedics arrived. One placed their hand on her shoulder, and she shook it off.

"No! No, he's still there, I can save him! I can…" Her shouting gave way to sobs, as the first responders covered Jahim in a sheet, and wheeled him into an ambulance. Jay was still collapsed, when a startled shout brought her back to reality.

"What the… He's got a pulse!"

Jay snapped her vision to the ambulance, and the two paramedics within. "What?" the other one said.

"I was just prepping him, and I felt his neck, and there was a pulse!" the first medic shouted. "He's alive!"

The first paramedic turned forward to the driver. "Punch it! This kid needs attention fast!"

The doors of the ambulance slammed shut, and it sped down the road towards the hospital. One of the other paramedics at the scene, from another ambulance that had responded, walked to Jay. "Ma'am, are you okay?"

Jay looked up at him, blood and tears smeared across her face. "Take me to the hospital."


	51. Strength

The nurse in Jay's room continued to point a flashlight over her left eye, as Jay covered her right, and sighed in disappointment. No matter how she moved the light, the diamond-like eye failed to respond in any way. She backed away from Jay, and Jay looked at her in anticipation.

"I don't like being the bearer of bad news," the nurse said, "but the eye's completely dead. Even touching it did nothing, it's hard as stone." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but your left eye isn't ever going to function again. We can't heal it in this state."

Jay remained stone-faced, and spoke quietly. "And the other injuries?"

"What other injuries?" the nurse said. "Aside from the eye, there was only some bruising on your neck, and that healed right up with your aura. We'll have you cleared for discharge before the hour's up."

"Thanks," Jay said, and the nurse nodded in response before leaving and shutting the door behind her. The door almost immediately reopened, and Jay was surprised. "Did you forget something, nur-"

Jay was cut off by a pair of powerful cybernetic arms being flung around her shoulders, the rest of Alice following them into a tearful, haphazard embrace. "Oh thank the Gods," she blubbered around her tears, "I thought I'd lost you."

Jay looked down at Alice, who seemed to be holding onto her for dear life, before looking back toward the door, and seeing Yang leaning in the frame. "Glad to see you're okay, kiddo," she said, smiling at Jay.

"You two came to the wrong room," Jay said, her tone colder than ice. "Jahim's a few floors up, I think."

"Good luck getting there, the place is more jam-packed than my club on a friday night," Yang said.

"Why wouldn't we come here?" Alice asked. "Donovan and the others are already with Jahim. He would want someone here for you too."

"No," Jay said, shaking her head. "No he wouldn't."

"What?" Alice said. "Why not?"

"Because I…" Jay said, before feeling a tear manifest in her right eye. "I couldn't save him."

"Jay," Yang said, "he survived, you know. Because of you."

"He shouldn't have had to _survive!_ " Jay snapped, causing Alice to jump in surprise. "He shouldn't have needed _saving!_ I should have… Why couldn't I talk him out of it? Why couldn't I stop him?" Jay finally broke down, a lone trail of tears streaking down her face.

"Jay," Yang said, walking and placing her hand on her shoulder, "it's not your fault."

"But I…" Jay shook her head, taking a deep breath. "Yang, when I beat Tahir, that part of the match… What did you see?"

Yang stuck her tongue out as she thought. "Tahir was spouting nonsense, we had to cut the feeds to the TV networks. After that though, you destroyed him. He suddenly couldn't touch you, every single move he made, you responded to. It was almost like…" Yang's eyes went wide. "Jay, can you…"

Alice moved her head, to face Jay, and Jay closed her eyes and sighed. "My semblance awoke during that fight. It… replayed the scene, everything happening the same way over and over again. I honestly thought it was the afterlife, and I was dead, it was so absurd. But I just… kept doing it. I kept repeating, and repeating, and repeating, until one time it stuck. It was real." She looked in the mirror across the room from her, and looked at her diamond eye for the first time. "It cost me my eye, but I think… I think I can see the future."

Alice gasped. "That's… incredible! How does it work?"

"I don't know," Jay said. "I don't even know if I can control it. But…" Jay's fists clenched. "But when Jahim was falling it… it happened again."

Alice's face drained of what little colour it had. "Oh my… you mean…"

Jay nodded. "I had to see it, again and again. I tried, tried hundreds of times, hundreds of different ways, but nothing worked. Nothing let us both live. So I… I chose to…." She shut her eyes tight, and let out a sob as her tears returned. "I let him fall!" she screamed. "I let my friend fall to his death a hundred times! I… oh Gods I… I killed him." She pulled her hands off of Alice, and looked at them as if they were horrifying. "I chose to kill him to save myself. How do I live with that?"

"Jay, he's alive," Alice said, almost pleading with her. "You don't have to."

"It doesn't matter if he's alive," Jay said, still distant, "I didn't know he'd make it. I chose the way I went, believing that he would die. I made that decision. I have to live with that." She let her arms go limp, the limbs falling onto Alice. "I don't know if I can." She sniffled, and swallowed hard. "Jahim said he did it for us… that he wanted to… die… so that Kasbah wouldn't come and start a war. I couldn't tell him how wrong that was, how much that didn't matter, and I couldn't save him. I'm a failure."

"Far from it," Yang said, causing Jay to snap to her. Jay opened her mouth to speak, but Yang put her finger up to interrupt her. "You beat Tahir."

"Only because of my semblance," Jay said.

"No," Yang said, "You crushed every aspect of him. When you fought him equally, he could barely compete. When you fought with your semblances, he couldn't touch you. And when your ideals clashed at the end, you dismantled every word he had." Yang shook her head. "Tahir is getting expelled from Nikos, now that we have reason to investigate criminal charges on him, and his credibility has been erased. He's sitting in a jail cell now. He can't do anything."

"Jahim's safe, Jay," Alice said, tightening her embrace. "He's safe and free, because of you. He'll want to see you."

"I…" Jay managed a smile. "Thank you," she said, returning Alice's hug once more. "Thank you both so much, but… I can't." She looked down. "Not yet."

"That's okay," Yang said, "You went through something we can't ever begin to comprehend, with your semblance. If you need time, you need time. Just know he'll be smiling when he sees you." She pushed off the wall, and stretched her arms above her head. "Now, once you're out of this place, meet me in the lobby. You've got an address to make."

Jay looked at her with confusion, and Alice began to elaborate. "Winners give a speech after their victory, usually impromptu. They also give out the winnings."

"Winnings?" Jay asked.

"Well," Yang said, stretching the word with a singsongy tone, "normally I'd say the prize was Tahir getting his shit kicked in, but we kinda do have a protocol to follow. The prize is, uninspired as it is, a million Lien."

" _WHAT?_ " Jay shouted. "You just give that kinda money out?"

"I mean, you _do_ have to be the strongest Huntsman in training on Remnant to get it, so I wouldn't say it's being given out," Yang said.

Jay's jaw hung open wide, still in shock over the sheer number in her prize. "Well," Alice said, "I guess this means I don't have to pay for both of us when we go out anymore."

Jay turned to Alice, before finally managing to snicker, and devolved into full-blown laughter. Yang stepped out, making her way downstairs, and Jay composed herself. "Hey," Jay said to Alice, "wanna help me write a speech?"

Alice snickered back at her. "I'd love to."

It was nearly a full day before Jay's ceremony, and the crowd gathered around the stage set up in front of Nikos' gates was as large as it was boiling with anticipation. It hadn't taken long for rumors, tales, and scroll-taken video to spread, leading to nearly all the world knowing what went on during Jay and Tahir's bout. The crowds of reporters and paparazzi were an unwelcome feeling of deja vu for Jay, considering the situation in Atlas a few weeks prior, and she sat behind the stage, away from the prying eyes of the media while she composed herself. She noticed it was around time, and Jaune took the stage, beginning to speak.

Jay wasn't paying complete attention, only catching a few words or phrases about gratitude pride, things that are expected of a headmaster to say at this kind of speech, and one Jay's sure Jaune's tired of giving at this point. Jay's attention was piqued at Jaune's announcement of Tahir's expulsion and jailing, and she looked to her left. Alice was sitting next to her, her hand finding Jay's. "Hey," Alice said, "you'll be fine. You've overcome bigger threats than stage fright."

"Is it wrong I think I'd rather be impaled again?" Jay said, prompting them both to laugh.

"C'mon," Alice said, standing up. "Check yourself in the mirror, you go out in a minute."

Jay stood up and walked to the full length mirror that had been wheeled out behind the stage with them, and looked at herself. She was told to dress nicely, leading to a trip to the tailors for a plus-sized suit she now wore. It was simple, standard black pants and coat, white undershirt, accented with a red tie, though the back did have openings, allowing her wings to rest folded on her back. She looked at her face, and the eyepatch she'd been given by the hospital. She looked at it for a long time, before grabbing at it, and taking it off, tossing it to the side. Alice noticed, and walked towards her. "You sure about the eyepatch? I mean, I don't know what it looks like, but, uh," she trailed off, and Jay turned and planted a tiny kiss on her forehead.

"It's okay, I'm sure," Jay said, pulling Alice into a hug. "A certain someone told me a long time ago I shouldn't be ashamed of the scars." She looked into the mirror again, and directly into the diamond-like organ in her eye socket. "What's one more?" She winked her dead eye, making Alice redden. "Plus, it looks cool. I've got a diamond for an eye."

Alice giggled. "I have no idea what that means, but I'll take your word on it."

"Merletta," one attendant near the stage said, "you're on in 30, look alive."

"The stage calls," Jay said, before pulling Alice in for another quick kiss. "Wish me luck."

"You won't need it," Alice said, waving to her as she approached the stairs onto the stage. Jay was met with deafening cheering and a chorus of camera shutters snapping as her picture was snapped hundreds of times. She looked through the crowd, and spied Donovan, Amber, Porfirio, and Sienna in the crowd. She smiled, seeing her friends out there, Sienna enthusiastically waving, while Donovan nodded silently, his reserved smile on display. She reached the podium, and the cheering regressed to murmurs, and the only real sound where the photos still being taken. Jay cleared her throat, and began to speak.

"So, my girlfriend helped me write this, so blame her if this comes off a little corny." The crowd laughed. "Y'know, being a former homeless vigilante-mercenary type deal, I really don't have much experience with public speaking. From what I was told, I'm supposed to thank people who got me here, and I won't question that. There's Yang Xiao Long, who has not only been an incredible combat instructor, but also a truly inspirational person to work with. There's Ruby Rose, who saved my life at the end of the event, and there's Nao and Gloria from Haven, being great new friends I've met along the way. Team ASNL has been a group of some of my closest friends for as long as I've been at Nikos, they deserve thanks." She shook her head. "But, most deserving of praise is my own team, SAJJ. Putting on the show we did, only a week after what we endured in Atlas was easy enough for me, but for someone like Donovan, our leader, who lost his arm and eye in the conflict, that's something I'm thankful for. Donovan's tactical mind got us through the first round, and his strategies got me through the next two. Alice, who I'm sure you've all realized is my other half by now," she said, pausing for the crowd's returning snickers, "was not only a courageous and powerful fighter, but my emotional anchor for the past, well, semester. I really don't think I'd be here today without her." She paused. "And then there's Jahim." The crowd's murmurs silenced, his very name being sombering. "As I'm sure you all heard, Jahim is in stable condition now, but his story, his _life_ , was what drove me the most yesterday.

"What Jahim had to endure from Tahir, while he was in his life, was abuse. There's no other word for it. It was vile, blackmailing abuse, eventually leading to what Tahir said during our fight." She paused again, gathering herself. "I know that the feed cut off before he finished, but he said that 'Only the strong survive'. Which is a toxic, and awful sentiment. Tahir meant that only the physically strong, only great fighters, they're the only ones that can make it in this world." Jay shook her head. "That's stupid. Strength isn't just how well you can fight, or how much you can lift, or how big you are. Strength is doing what you know is right, even if everyone around you is telling you you're wrong," she said, looking to Donovan. "Strength is taking any situation, no matter how bleak or disastrous, and not only surviving in it, but _living_ in it," she said, looking at Amber. "Strength is being yourself, no matter what any bully, or bigot, or loudmouthed idiot has to say!" Her voice began to rise, inspiring cheers after each statement. "Strength is living through turmoil, knowing that the sun will rise, and knowing your life _will_ be yours!" She paused, reveling in the cheers. "Tahir Farid thought he knew what strength was, but he couldn't have been more wrong." Jay raised her arm, in her now iconic gesture. "It isn't strength that makes us survive! It is survival, that makes us strong! We are humanity! We are the faunus! We have survived, Tahir, no, all who believe as he does! We have survived, and that makes us stronger than you!"

Jay's "Thank you" was drowned out by the riotous cheering, and she was walked offstage by Jaune as photos continued being taken. Alice lept into her arms, Jay hoisting her up and spinning her in joy.

"That was incredible," Alice said, attempting to regain her balance after Jay set her down. "People are going to be talking about that, I'd wager."

"Yeah," Jaune said. "That was a _lot_ better than mine. I'm gonna have to step it up if you win next year," he said, scratching the back of his head.

Alice nestled into Jay's embrace, smiling wide. "You wanna go home?"

Jay smiled back, but shook her head. "There's someone I need to go see."


	52. Life Goes On

Jay closed her eyes, sighing as she stopped in front of the hospital room door. After Jaune had the floor cleared of anyone except loved ones, it was possible to finally visit Jahim. Yet, Jay had been standing outside his room for nearly five minutes, unable to move. Jaune and Alice stood at her sides, and Alice placed a hand up on her shoulder.

"Hey, we're here. He wants to see you," she said.

"I know," Jay said, "I'm just nervous, is all."

"You don't have any reason to be, you saved his life," Alice said. "You'll be fine."

"I hope so," Jay said, before knocking on the door. She heard Nero's voice from inside, something that didn't surprise her at all.

"Come in," he said, and Jay complied, twisting the handle on the door, and pushing it open as she braced herself for what awaited her on the other side. Despite this, her eyes still bulged in shock at what lied in the bed before her.

Jahim sat upright, with no bandages to be seen on him. There wasn't an oxygen mask on his face, nor an IV drip in his arm. He was merely in a hospital gown, looking more tired than anything else. Nero sat next to him, looking even more tired, and smiling at Jay while holding Jahim's hand in his own. Jahim turned to Jay, and also smiled.

"Hey," he said, exhaustion prevalent in his voice.

Jay was still unsure of what to do, too hesitant to even enter the room. "H-hey," she replied, her voice shaky.

"I saw your speech," Jahim said, nodding towards the television. "You're pretty good at that stuff. I'm kinda a mess when it come to public speaking."

Jay managed a nervous chuckle, but only walked a few steps in before pausing again. Nero noticed her behavior, and spoke out. "Jay, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Jay responded a little too quickly. "Nothing's wrong."

"Jay," Jahim said, "Yang told us. She told us about what happened. I left before the fight was over, and only heard it over the intercom."

Jay's face cracked, and she sniffled, turning her vision away from Jahim and Nero. "I-I… I…"

"You were right," Jahim finished for her, snapping her vision back to him. "You were right about everything."

Jay sniffled again, a single trail of tears carving its way down her face. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Jahim asked, his tone making her jump again.

"I… I let you fall… I killed you…." Jay stammered.

"No, _I_ killed myself," Jahim said. "You told me nothing but truths, nothing but what I needed to hear, and I still flung myself off of that airdock. You leapt right off of it, and subjected yourself to who knows how long of a living nightmare, watching me die over and over and over again, and you still came down and restarted my heart when you knew I was doomed to fall." He looked down, at his own hands. "I threw my life away. I gave up, killing myself to avoid conflict like a selfish coward. I hurt everyone close to me for even trying, and I hurt you most of all. I'm sorry, Jay."

Jay was silent for a while, before walking up to Jahim, and taking a seat on the chair next to him. "Promise me you won't give up again," she said, grabbing onto Jahim's hand. "Promise me you'll be strong. You deserve so much more."

"I promise," Jahim said. He chuckled, nodding his head towards Nero. "You shoulda seen _him_ after I woke up. Dude was a mess."

"My _boyfriend_ falls ten stories, then wakes up in perfect health? I wasn't sure _I_ wasn't dead, man!" He and Jahim laughed, earning a chuckle out of Jay, which made Alice smile from the doorway.

Jay looked at Jahim, and turned to look him in the eye. "Jahim, I want you to know that this prize money they saddled on me, it's yours too. I, uh," she said, beginning to stumble on her words, "I read that transitioning can get kinda expensive, but I've gotta find a way to spend this _million_ damned Lien somehow. So, uh, if you need cash now that _he's_ not holding you back, consider it all paid for."

Jahim was silent for a moment, before leaping up and wrapping his arms around Jay's neck, pulling her in for a tight embrace. "You have no idea how much that means. Thank you," Jahim said, his voice hitching on his tears, "Thank you so much."

Jay was still, before finally reciprocating the hug, her embrace tender for not wanting to hurt Jahim further. She held him for several minutes, before Jahim eventually pulled back, and laid down. "Jahim," Jay asked, after he had settled, "how did you recover so fast? I only restarted your heart."

"Actually," Jaune said from the doorway, "you didn't." All eyes were suddenly on the headmaster, and he raised his hands in worry. "Okay, maybe not the best line to open on."

"What do you mean?" Jay said. "I performed CPR, and his heart restarted in the ambulance."

"Jay, you did perform CPR, but…" Jaune shook his head. "Jahim was dead." Every single other person in the room began to stammer questions, and Jaune raised his hands again. "Okay, I am _very_ bad at this, but I'm gonna have to give a history lesson to explain myself." He cleared his throat.

"Kasbah is a strange place," Jaune said. "It's a city in the middle of an arid desert, with no barriers to keep the grimm out, so surviving there took a lot of two things; brawn, and faith. Kasbah was a holy city in the old days, for a religion lost to time, and like a lot of religions back then, there were some _really_ messed up rituals. They thought Semblances were signs of divine favour, and would make self offerings to their gods for power, and as time progressed, Kasbah denizens evolved to have Semblances that would save them from the procedure 100% of the time, and then awaken. Eventually, this made the religion fall apart, but the procedure of nearly killing yourself to unlock your semblance stayed, and even escalated to the point where the semblances would have to actually resuscitate them from death. A Kasbah-born person, upon death, would be rapidly healed back to as if it had never happened, but they'd have a semblance. That," Jaune said, pointing at Jahim, "is what happened yesterday, to you."

Jahim looked at his hands again. "I… died?" He paused for a moment, before shaking his head. "This only changes one thing." He turned to Nero. "We've got a semblance to find, don't we?"

"You took that… _shockingly_ well," Jaune said.

Jay and Nero both nodded, with Jay even chuckling. "Jahim's semblance finally showing up? Now that, I can't wait to see."

"That was a beautiful speech, don't you think?"

Donovan looked down, the words pulling his attention. He was sitting on his bed, his back against the headboard, and his left hand holding a book up to read. His right hand gingerly rubbed Amber's feline ears as she laid next to him, his fingers always seeming to linger on the scar tissue around the missing area of her left ear. Donovan marveled at how soft they were, and smiled at the soft, rumbling purr that would emerge, and that Amber would always swear she never actually did. This time of relaxation had become a favourite of theirs after their talk several days ago, the silence relaxing them both. It was for that reason that the breaking of the silence made Donovan realize something must be wrong.

"Yes, it was," Donovan replied, still petting Amber's ears. "Jay's far more eloquent than her text messages would have you believe."

"It's just," Amber said, pausing long enough to make Donovan put his book down and look at her again. "I've been thinking about it. About surviving, and strength, and living. You know she directed some of it at us, right?"

"Yes, because we're survivors," Donovan said. " _You're_ a survivor."

Amber raised her hands up into the air, looking at them. "Only because of this damned body. Monsters tend to live a lot longer than men."

"Amber," Donovan said, his hand reaching and taking her left into it, "do you really believe you're a monster?"

"No, no not anymore," Amber said, sitting up next to Donovan. "It's just… I was one for so long. It's like Jay said. I survived that, and I'm stronger for it. It's just, living as one that long… it doesn't just go away. Life goes on, but I still worry about it."

"Worry about what?" Donovan said, his grip tightening on her hand in worry. "If there's something troubling you, please, let me help."

Amber froze, thinking to exactly what was troubling her. Her mind went back to her conversation with her mother, that night.

 _You're going to have to tell him eventually. He deserves to know._

"Donovan, what's bothering me is something that not even my team knows, something that scares me more than anything." She swallowed hard, and Donovan moved closer to her.

"Is it something I can help with?" Donovan asked.

"It…" Amber sighed. "It's this body. _My_ body. What I was made for. It's… It's time I told you."

Donovan nodded. "Okay."

Amber cleared her throat, and shut her eyes. "From the first moment I can remember, I was a weapon. I knew nothing but what was told to me, and that was that what Knightsnow, my 'master', told me needed to die, I had to go kill. And kill I did, hundreds of people. I even had my own team, the bunch of savages." She sighed. "That wasn't the only thing they told me though. They told me about my body. _That_ is what worries me.

"My body was engineered as a weapon of mass destruction. I can survive for 3 months without a single calorie of food, I can survive a full 6 weeks without a drop of water. When I'm at my peak, I can lift twelve tonnes. I can run at speeds that rival some _cars_ if I push myself. All this is thanks to whatever they pumped me full of, whatever they used to replace most of my muscles. But it came with a cost." She looked at her hand that wasn't currently in Donovan's. "I'm stuck like this."

"What?" Donovan asked. "What do you mean?"

"I… I don't age." Amber said, keeping her eye contact onto her hand. "Whatever they made… me… out of, it doesn't age. They told me I'll be like this forever. I'll live until something kills me, and it'll be like this." Donovan watched her as she sniffled, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm gonna… I'm gonna outlive you by centuries. All of you. You'll grow old and I'll still be this. I'm frozen." She let out a single sob. "If this.. If this is too much I won't ask you to stay with-"

"Amber," Donovan said, before letting go of her hand, and wrapping himself around her. "I'm here. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you."

Amber hesitated, before falling into Donovan's embrace, crying into her shoulder. "I'm so scared," she said around her sniffling, "b-before, it didn't matter, I was a weapon. Even after I was free, I didn't have enough attachments for it to matter. But… now I have things to lose, and I _will_ lose them to something I can't control." She felt her anger flare, banging her clenched fist into Donovan's metal shoulder blade. "I never asked for this! Why me? Why was it me? Why do I have to lose you? Why? _Why?_ " she screamed, before devolving into sobs.

Donovan shushed her, patting her back and petting her ears in an attempt to relax her. When her crying had settled somewhat, he began to speak softly, not wanting to startle her. "Amber, you might lose us in body, but not in spirit. Do you remember what Headmaster Arc said to us when he explained his semblance?"

"N-no one is dead until they're forgotten…" Amber stammered.

"Right," Donovan said. "You could live past my death. You could live past it by centuries. But, I'll still be here, in your mind, your memories. When we met, when we first talked, our first night together, everything between us will still remain. The mind is something time takes only if you let it." He pulled her in tighter. "It's okay to be scared, Amber. I'm so proud of you for staying strong this long when you had this bottled up, and I'm thankful you shared it with me." He leaned back, and looked into her teary eyes. "You're the woman I love. As long as I'm here, I'm here for you. As long as I'm here, as long as I'm in your mind, you won't ever be alone."

Amber was wordless, only leaning in and kissing Donovan, pressing deep into him and feeling him press back. She broke off after what felt like forever, and managed a chuckle. "We've been a real mess, lately, huh? Both of us, falling to tears in each others arms in the span of a week."

"We're barely adults, and we're trying to save the world," Donovan said. "I think we'll be forgiven if we both need to cry every now and then. We traded our youth so that others wouldn't have to."

Amber smiled, and they remained together, cuddling for hours, until a message to Donovan's scroll finally drew him from his comfort.

"Who would be… oh, _no_ ," Donovan said, reading the message.

"What?" Amber said, sitting up, "What's wrong?"

"Emissaries just arrived at the Vale foreign affairs office," Donovan said, looking at Amber. "The Chieftain and High Priest of Kasbah are in Vale."


	53. The Immortal Son of the Moon

"You sure you want us here?"

All of Team SAJJ stood at the front of Nikos Academy, alongside Yang and Headmaster Arc, both of whom looked less than thrilled at the prospect of meeting Kasbah's Warchief. Jaune turned his head towards Donovan to answer him.

"I think having my World Champions at my side will do a decent job of competing with the High Priest of Kasbah, don't you think?" He said, a grin appearing on his face as he turned back to face the entrance.

"Okay," Alice said, "but why do 4 Huntsmen compete with a single priest? Aren't they usually pretty old?"

"The other kind of priest," Jahim deadpanned, making Alice turn her head.

"There's more than one kind of priest?" she said, before snapping her attention to a rhythmic sound not unlike that of marching. "You guys hear that?"

"Yup," Yang said, almost sounding angry as the popped the p in her word. "They're on their way."

"Who?" Donovan asked. "The Chief"

"Him and the High Priest, yes," Donovan said.

"No, that can't be right," Alice said, focusing on the sound. "That's… that's more than twenty men marching!"

"Indeed it is, 27 to be exact," Jahim said, making the rest of SAJJ turn toward him. "The other meaning of priest is a type of hammer. My father uses it as a diplomatic trap, getting people to agree to see him and his High Priest, before his personal army arrives with him and intimidates any local warlord that needs to be quieted."

"Something tells me we're being a little loud for his tastes then," Donovan said, pointing to the gate of Nikos, and to the two rows of armoured knights marching through them. Each one was identical, golden plate armour covering every inch of them, with swords strapped to their hips. Once 24 of them were through the door, they turned, and stepped away from another. There was a pause, before a booming voice pierced the air like a javelin.

" **MY MEN, WHO WOULD DARE DEFY MY WILL?** "

"Only a fool, my Lord!" the knights replied in unison.

" **AND WHO WOULD DARE STAND AGAINST MY RIGHTEOUS FURY?** "

"Only the brave, my Lord!" the knights replied again.

" **WRONG!** " The booming voice continued, before a twenty fifth figure stepped into the gap between the two rows of soldiers. He was also clad in golden armour, but his was more ornate, and featured a violet cape, accented with streaks of gold through it in various pattern. He lacked a helmet, unlike his knights, and his head was visible. Were it not for the significantly shorter beard, and him being a few inches shorter, he would be nearly indistinguishable from Tahir Farid. He reached the front of the line, and looked Jaune dead in the eyes.

"Both are fools!"

"Yes, my Lord!" the knights cried out once more. The remaining two knights in the formation came up the part behind him, one holding a chair that he placed behind the man, the wood adorned with more golden accents, and the violet cushions similarly so. The man at the head took his seat, and the other knight then reached him, handing him a cup of tea from a tray he held.

"Warchief Dahabi Farid," Jaune said, his eyes narrowing. "To what do I owe this rare meeting?"

The Warchief took a long drink from the cup, before placing it back on the knight's tray, knocking the cap off the kettle, and taking it into his hand, drinking from it instead. "You know full well what I am here for, Arc. You've arrested my Mansur. My proudest warrior. My son. Why have you done this?"

"Two counts of attempted murder is more than enough to hold him without bond, especially considering his wealth and ability to disappear," Jaune said. "If you've come to negotiate his release, I'm afraid that won't be happening."

"About that, boy," Dahabi said, taking another drink from his kettle. "I took some time to read up on Vale law on the long plane ride here. Did you know that charges can be dropped if they are refuted though a clear show of bias?"

"Both cases were on video," Yang said.

"Yes, but only one had _audio_ ," Dahabi said, a grin forming on his face. "I made sure to watch the tapes of the alleged crimes as well. The second one, I shall concede, is indeed impossible to refute. Miss Merletta would not be alive were it not for the _fortunate_ intervention of Mrs. Rose. However, the other charge is merely an inferential one, without any proper testimony. You have no real evidence to properly charge my Mansur of this crime." His grin widened. "And a single attempted murder charge cannot void bail."

"Warchief, we _do_ have witness testimony," Jaune said.

"From who?" Dahabi said.

"From me," a familiarly accented voice said. SAJJ all turned around, to see Nao, and most surprising, Gloria, awake and walking towards them.

"Gloria, you're awake!" Jay shouted.

"That's right," Gloria said, crossing her arms. "I woke up just after the finals. Nao told me what happened, and I contacted Mr. Arc over here. We agreed that I'd be a target if someone wanted to come bail out Tahir, considering I was the lynchpin holding him here." She chuckled to herself. "Lipreaders were able to piece together some of what Tahir said, and my testimony matched it, and added even more. It's more than enough to put his bigoted lil arse behind bars for a long time."

Jaune turned back to Dahabi, his stern look unchanging. "I expected better from someone of your position, Warchief. Behavior like this is why Kasbah isn't the world power it could be." He placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his hip. "You and your militia are no longer welcome on my school's grounds. You have a week before Tahir's trial, and there are numerous hotels that you and your entourage can board in until then."

"Arc," Dahabi said, the smile gone from his face. "There is one other matter I am here for. While you hold my son captive, you harbor a criminal from my nation, one I have been searching for for years." He stood up, towering over Jaune as he set the tea kettle down, and looked him in the eyes. "Where is Hamr ā?"

Jaune was quiet for a brief moment. "I don't know anyone of that name here-"

" **DO NOT PLAY WITH ME, BOY!** " Dahabi shouted, his voice deafening up close. "You know full well she stands directly behind you!"

"There are three women behind me, but none of them are this Hamr ā you're looking for." Jaune allowed himself a small smile, which made Dahabi's eye twitch in anger.

"You are harboring someone I hold legal dominion over as father! I have a legal right to take my child back!"

"Well," Jaune said, pulling out his scroll and opening his student database. "Of all my students, only two bear your surname. Tahir Farid has you listed as parent, but Jahim Farid does not. His legal guardian is currently listed as, well, would you look at that, Jaune Arc." Both Jahim and Dahabi's eye's bulged. "It seems that he had Tahir Farid as his guardian formerly, but his arrest voided that position. Then, it looks like this handsome-sounding Arc gentleman legally adopted Mr. Farid, giving him legal dominion over him until his eighteenth birthday." Jaune put away his scroll, before looking Dahabi in the eye once more. "Even if I were to condone the blatant disrespect and dehumanization of my student, the conditions described by him to me are hardly fit for _livestock_ , let alone children. You will not be taking, nor disrespecting Jahim any further." Jaune pulled his sword very slightly from its scabbard. The glowing blade brilliantly shone, illuminating the entire square. "You will leave my school now, or I will remove you personally." Jaune's tone was angry, something none of SAJJ had ever heard before. "And you will _never_ hurt my friends or family again!"

Dahabi stood firm for a moment, before backing up a step. "Well played, Arc. Well played." He snapped his fingers, and the tray and chair were carried off, before his knights once again assumed formation. "Do not think for a single second this is over."

Dahabi turned with his knights, and the group left the way they came, the marching fading into the distance. Jaune replaced his sword, and turned to Jahim, his face still twisted in shock.

"I'm sorry for not telling you earlier Jahim, but this was for the best," Jaune said. "If the information had somehow leaked, Dahabi's actions would have been unpredictable. This way, we know to monitor him, and he's so close that it won't be an issue. I know I should have asked your permission first, but it was the easiest way to make sure he had no legal way to take you. And hey, it's only 'til you're 18, which is in like 3 months anyway, so if you're uncomfortable with it, it won't last long at-"

Jaune was cut off by an abrupt hug from Jahim. "Thank you…" he managed to mutter through his tears of happiness.

"You're safe now," Jaune said, reciprocating the hug. "You all are."

"So is this all finally over?" Nao asked, her grip firmly on Gloria's hand.

"No, Dahabi's likely to try again," Jaune said, releasing Jahim. "But I… we are not gonna let him hurt anyone again without going to formal war, and he can't do that without sinking his empire. I'll make sure you're all safe for the remainder of your stay at my school, that I promise."

Everyone nodded, and Jahim looked at Jaune. "So, er, do I call you dad now?"

The entire group laughed, and Jaune put his hand on Jahim's shoulder. "You don't have to call me anything new, just Headmaster Arc is still fine." He reddened slightly. "I mean, you can call me dad if you want, but that's not important. What's important is what do we call you? 'Cause I'm betting you wanna get rid of that last name."

Jahim nodded. "Well, you did give me a good out," Jahim said. "I'll try Jahim Arc for a little while."

Gloria nodded. "Fits you well, love," she said.

"I think so too," Jay said. "And, it doesn't even mess up our team name."

"Oh, gods you have _no_ idea how hard it was to get that!" Jaune said, the exasperation in his voice bringing laughter back to the group. "I seriously think it may be the hardest part of the job. It's like a newspaper puzzle from the underworld."

The group laughed, and found their way inside, their newfound safety offering comfort for the first time in what felt like forever.

"He's a lot different than I thought," Jay said. "I was expecting a drug addict to look a little more… drug addict-y?"

The group had returned to their dorm, lounging on their beds as the contemplated the recent events at the square. "Yes," Donovan said, "opium is not a kind drug. I would have though he would be more frail than the mountain of a man we stood opposite."

"That's his semblance," Jahim said, staring into the ceiling. "My fa… Dahabi's body regenerates itself extremely rapidly from any damage, permanent or otherwise. It's why his rule has gone unopposed for so long, he's _very_ difficult to kill. In Kasbahn, our native language, he's called _Najl Khalidat Alqamar_ , or the Immortal Son of the Moon."

"I didn't realize you weren't a native speaker," Alice said. "You have no accent at all."

"Oh, I don't speak Kasbahn. The women I was raised by only knew Common, save a handful of the older ones. Kasbahn is a Holy language, reserved for respectful titles and nobles to converse in so the common rabble don't understand them."

"Okay, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Jay said, rolling her eyes.

"Still, be thankful you're a native speaker," Donovan said. "It's harder than you think to not be one."

"You're not a native speaker?" Jahim asked, sitting up to look at Donovan.

"My tribe had its own language, _Cirrostra_ , the name of our people in the tongue as well. I have no idea how many speakers of it are still alive, but I would imagine it will die out within a few hundred years. I certainly don't plan on teaching it to anyone."

"That's pretty interesting though," Alice said. "So, what's it like, not being a native speaker."

"I have to take anything said to me, and translate it into _Cirrostra_. It's why it can take me some time to understand things."

"Well, we're not gonna treat you any differently for it," Jay said.

"If it's worth any sentiment, your language is far more interesting than mine. So much more broad, yet so concise at the same time. So many words with so many meaning." Donovan chuckled. "I may have been a linguist, had I not walked this path."

Jay chuckled. "I could see you as a professor. You got that air about-" Jay abruptly stopped, the pause lasting for a brief minute. "Everyone down!" she suddenly shouted, tackling Alice down and covering her with her own body as the large window above her's and Alice's beds shattered, spraying broken glass over Jay's form as a golden arrow flew in and embedded itself in the door opposite them. Donovan immediately leapt to the window, using his bionic eye's infra-red sight to attempt to spot the attacker. The only figure he saw was one more than a kilometer away, who was fleeing. Donovan cursed under his breath, before looking down, and gasping with Jahim at the sight. Jay groaned as she sat up, her exposed back, arms, and upper wings covered in cuts from the broken glass strewn over her. As she moved, Alice crawled out from under her, completely spared of the window's assault.

"You okay?" Jay said, pain in her voice evident. Alice nodded, and Jay sighed in relief. "Thank the Gods."

"Jay, we need to get you to the infirmary, _now_ ," Jahim said.

"Wait," Jay said, pointing at the arrow. "Check it, there's a message on it."

Jahim looked, there was a curled paper skewered on the arrow's shaft. "How did you…"

"Future sight, remember?" Jay said with a weak chuckle. "Alice, please carry me to the hospital now."

Alice nodded, picking Jay up into a bridal carry, the blood on her back staining her white shirt. "I'll stay with her, make sure she's safe." Donovan nodded, and Alice walked out of the room, before beginning to run to the infirmary. Jahim yanked the arrow off the wall, and withdrew the message from it. He uncurled the paper, and his eyes bulged at not just the sight of what it said, also at the unmistakable signature and handwriting he had seen for years.

 _Jahim_

 _You will come to the clearing in the Emerald to meet me. You will come alone. If you do not come by midnight, or if you tell or come with anyone of this, people will begin to die in Vale. And they will not stop dying._

 _You are not safe from me. Not now, not ever._

 _Tahir Farid._


	54. Reborn Phoenix of the Sun

Jahim walked through the now all-too-familiar opening in the woods, into the clearing of the Emerald. He entered the clearing alone, his weapon on his back, and no one at his side, though he was not alone. Around the edge of the clearing, the members of Kasbah's High Priest stood, closing in to block his exit as he walked through it. In the center of the area, Warchief Dahabi stood, some sort of weapon slung on his back, his golden armour shimmering in the moonlight. Next to him was Tahir, still in his prison uniform, and his arm in a sling, broken from when Ruby Rose fired through it to save Jay. Jahim stopped at the midway point between his entrance and his foes, taking a deep breath.

"I'm here," Jahim said, his tone angry and growling. "I thought Headmaster Arc made it clear that you wouldn't hurt any of our friends anymore."

Dahabi merely chuckled. "My condolences for the injured woman-"

"Her name is Jay Merletta," Jahim said, noticing Tahir tense at her name's mention, "and your archer's arrow was aimed right at where her head was. If she hadn't seen it coming, she would be dead." Jahim shook his head. "Tell me what you want, so you can be out of my life forever."

"I want my children safe in my home, like any father would," Dahabi said, outstretching his arms. "Is that too much to ask?"

"It's far too much!" Jahim shouted. "You're not my father, you never were! I've seen you more today than I ever did in that manor. All you are is a controlling, power hungry man, who knows something's slipped out of his grasp."

"You'll watch your tone in front of the Warchief, girl," Tahir spat, making Jahim fume. Apparently, he'd regressed to mere muttering from Tahir's perspective.

"Calm yourself, my Mansur," Dahabi said, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Arc is here on my good will right now."

 _Mr.?_ Jahim thought, flabbergasted that it would be _Dahabi_ to show him respect first. "Well, I'm not coming with you. Can I leave now?"

"I thought you might still hold animosity, so I took the liberty of attaining, oh, what's the word in common?" He snapped his fingers, and two more armoured knights broke the line, carrying a bruised, beaten Nero Rose by his shoulders, making Jahim gasp in shock. "Ah, that's it. _Leverage_."

" _Let him go!_ " Jahim shouted, fighting his every instinct to sprint at Nero. "Let him go, please!"

"You have two choices," Dahabi said, raising one arm. "You can walk out of here, and I take this boy back to Kasbah in your stead. He would fetch a decent price on the black market, his features and name would make him desirable to the deviants that hide in my Jewel in the Desert." He raised his other hand. "Or you come with me. You can repay your crimes to me with slave labour, a token of my generosity as your father rather than throwing you to the sex slave pits like your lover. Nero would be released, sent back to the others."

Jahim was quiet for a moment. "And if I refuse?"

"I take you both, by force," Dahabi said, lowering both hands. "You know there is only one option here."

Jahim paused again, before clenching his fists. "There is a third option."

"Hm?" Dahabi said, his eyebrows piquing.

Jahim took a deep breath, before pointing at Dahabi. "In the name of Kasbah, and in the name of the Creator, I challenge you, Dahabi Farid, for the right to rule Kasbah!"

There were gasps of surprise from the High Priest's members, and Tahir's fury seemed to boil over. "Ignorant whore! You would dare challenge the Warchief?"

" **ENOUGH** , Tahir," Dahabi said, all trace of humour gone from his voice. "Return to the line. Ensure no one breaks it." Tahir started to protest, but held his tongue, and regressed to the line around the clearing. "Your terms? Surely you do not want Kasbah's rule for yourself."

Jahim shook his head. "If... no, _when_ I defeat you, Kasbah surrenders its sovereignty to Vale. It will abide by its regulations and laws, and answer to our leader."

"And when you lose," Dahabi said, "you shall surrender to my will?"

Jahim nodded. "I only request Nero Rose be released regardless of the outcome of our fight. He is uninvolved in this conflict."

Dahabi nodded, and the knights holding Nero up set him on his feet. Nero ran to Jahim, hugging him. "Jahim," he said, his voice weak, "please, don't. He'll kill you…"

"No," Jahim said, holding Nero tight, "no he won't."

"Promise me," Nero said. "Promise me you'll win. Not for me, but for everyone."

"I promise you," Jahim said, before leaning down and kissing Jahim. He lingered for what felt like both forever and not nearly long enough, before breaking off. "Please, go to the hospital. I'll meet you there."

Nero nodded, and limped off, the wall of knights parting to allow him through until he vanished into the trees. Jahim returned his attention to Dahabi, his gaze now smoldering to match the Warchief's.

"If we are to fight this battle, it must be by tradition." Dahabi undid the clasps around his shoulders and waist, his golden cuirass clattering to the ground around him. He shed his greaves and boots, and eventually his leather shirt, leaving him barefoot, clad only in loose leather pants that flapped with the breeze. "I shed my armour, and fight as a man, not a shell." He looked at Jahim. "You have no armour in need of shedding, it seems. You may, if you wish-"

Dahabi was cut off by the fluttering of cloth, Jahim's shirt and coat discarded to the wind. His midsection was bare, save for bandages tightly wound around his chest, which he quickly slashed off with his drawn blade. "I will fight you on equal terms, Warchief. I have no shame. Not anymore." He held his weapon in sword forme, assuming his usual stance. "Raise your weapon."

Dahabi grasped the handle of the weapon that had fallen to the ground with his armour, hefting a giant, two handed axe with both of his hands. The weapon, uncharacteristically, was rather drab; the shaft plain black metal, the blade rectangular and blocked around the head of the axe. He raised the weapon in his right hand, pointing the head at his opponent. "Jahim Arc, I accept your challenge!" he shouted, before beginning to lumber forward, and placing his axe into both of his hands. Jahim held his stance, as Dahabi raised the axe, swiftly bringing it down with all of his force. Jahim rolled between his legs, making a slash that glanced off Dahabi's aura as the axe crashed into the ground. As the blade made landfall, the earth beneath them shook noticeably, and Jahim turned in time to meet Dahabi's fist, the Warchief punching him as he yanked his axe from the ground.

"Do you feel that?" Dahabi asked, chuckling to himself. "Even the _ground_ trembles!" Dahabi made another slash, Jahim ducking and making a wide strike across Dahabi's abdomen, further stressing his aura. Dahabi raised his foot, and attempted to kick Jahim. Jahim again rolled, this time turning and quickly reconfiguring his weapon to fire an explosive shot directly into Dahabi's back, finally knocking Dahabi off his feet. As he landed on his knees, Jahim returned his weapon to sword forme, and slashed several times at Dahabi's back, each one stressing his aura to the point of near fracture. Dahabi suddenly shot up, and rapidly spun, catching Jahim in the flank with his axe. Jahim's aura thankfully dulled the bite, but the impact sent him tumbling sideways into a tree. He felt blood begin to pool in his mouth, but quickly spat it out as he rose to his feet.

"You're stronger than I imagined you would be," Dahabi said. "You've certainly held your composure the longest of anyone who's fought me before. That alone deserves congratulation."

"I'm fighting for more than just me," Jahim said, his grip on his sword tightening. "I can't afford to be afraid."

Dahabi guffawed at the response. He outstretched his hands, leaving himself open. "Come on then, punish my hubris. Strike me, for those others you fight for!"

Jahim smirked, before spinning his weapon in his hand as he primed the bolt of the rifle. The barrel extended, and a fiery blast roared out of the gun and directly into Dahabi's head. The goliath fell to the ground with a thud, his aura flickering and dissipating with the impact. Dahabi continued to chuckle as he rose to his feet. Soot covered his face, and he spit out his own mouthful of blood. "This is the greatest fight of my life!" Dahabi shouted, before running and slashing at Jahim. The blow was ducked, and Jahim's blade tasted flesh as it carved through Dahabi's abdomen. As his sword traveled, the gash knitted itself back together almost instantly. Jahim's awe at the spectacle left him vulnerable, with Dahabi grasping his head with his large hand, and lobbing him backward towards the center of the clearing. "Haha, you can't even scratch me!" Dahabi slashed again, the blow glancing off of Jahim's block with enough force to still stagger him. Jahim quickly found his footing again, and spied Dahabi's left fist surging toward him. He readied himself, before rolling and slashing, and for the first time, hearing Dahabi roar in pain as his severed hand fell to the ground. Jahim turned back to look, and caught a boot to his head, knocking him backward. He looked at Dahabi as he rose, the flesh and bone of his stump beginning to grow.

"Okay," Dahabi said, "now I'm mad." He screamed as the flesh and bone of his hand regenerated, his fingers flexing and testing themselves before gripping his axe, and charging forward. He bellowed as he slashed rapidly, Jahim defending from the slow, powerful strikes before backstepping away from a vertical chop that left Dahabi's axe buried in the ground. He took the opportunity, and with a yell, slashed both of his hands off at the wrist. Dahabi screamed as he stumbled backward, and Jahim followed, slashing his chest as he pushed him backward. With one final shout, Jahim thrust his blade forward, burying it in Dahabi's chest to the hilt. Jahim looked into Dahabi's eyes, breathing heavily as the Warchief's breath hitched from the cold steel piercing his flesh. Suddenly, where there was brief surprise, anger returned, and a freshly regenerated hand grabbed onto Jahim's head, throwing him away. Jahim returned to his feet, but looked in shock and the giant, lumbering beast moving toward him, with his sword still lodged in his chest.

"Tell me, Jahim," he said, his tone wrathful. "Is this truly what passes for war here?" A powerful fist impacted into Jahim's guard, effortlessly knocking him backward. "You are strong, I will admit that." Another blow, this time to Jahim's stomach, making him double over. "But you're still vermin!" A hand closed around Jahim's throat, hoisting him into the air. "You don't know when to give up!" A harsh blow shattered the rest of Jahim's aura, as well as at least one of his ribs. "You face the Immortal Son of the Moon, _Najl Khalidat Alqamar_ , yet you do not show any fear. There's bravery, and then there is simple stupidity!" Dahabi let go of Jahim's throat, letting him fall to the ground. Jahim quickly rolled away, rising to his feet and raising his hands. "Still, you persist?"

"I've had worse, far worse. This hurts, but isn't anything compared to Kasbah."

"You have proven yourself here tonight," Dahabi said, with a chuckle. "Perhaps I mischose my Mansur."

"I have no desire of being your blade, Warchief." Jahim spat.

"You truly think so low of your people? Of you family?"

"My… _family?"_ Jahim said, feeling his anger rise. His blood began to boil, feeling hotter than anything. "You dare… call yourself _my family?"_ His voice raised to a scream, continuing onto a bellow as Jahim's hair erupted into flame. The fire atop his head burned, as wings of flickering orange fire manifested on his back. Jahim breathed hard, before looking at Dahabi. He raised his hand, conjuring fire in it, before pointing it at the Warchief. "You call yourself the Immortal Son of the Moon, the man who can survive anything?" He flicked his hand, and the ball of flame in it flew past Dahabi's head. "Heh." Jahim conjured flame in both his hands, and stretched them both outward. "Then you can call me Jahim Arc, Reborn Phoenix of the Sun. The man who survived everything!" Jahim united his hands, and outstretched them, a sphere of fire appearing in front of him. "Burn to cinders!"

Jahim loosed a torrent of fire, which licked every inch of Dahabi's body. The Warchief screamed at the pain, his breathing heavy as the flames subsided, and his body attempted to regenerate the burns. "This changes nothing!" Dahabi said, running forward, and attempting to strike Jahim. Jahim caught the blow in his hand with almost no effort.

"You're right, it doesn't" Jahim said, before lighting the hand that caught the blow, while gripping the handle of his weapon that was still lodged in Dahabi's chest. "I'll still beat you." He planted his foot on Dahabi's abdomen, and shoved off, the charred limb and sword coming loose and pulling free as the Warchief stumbled backward. Jahim conjured spheres of flame near Dahabi's knees, jets of flame shooting out and eradicating the flesh holding him up. The Warchief collapsed to the ground, pillars of flame preventing his limbs from reforming. As Dahabi lied on the ground, grimacing as his limbs were consistently seared off, Jahim pointed the tip of his sword at Dahabi's neck. "I could kill you right now. I could lop off your piece of shit head, or burn you to ashes."

"Then do it," Dahabi spat. "Finish what you started."

"No." Jahim lowered his sword. "I _could_ kill you here. I could kill you ten times over, without even trying. But I won't because that's what you want. I want you to live out the rest of your time knowing that you were invincible, unkillable, unbeatable, except for the person you least respect. I want you to remember you were bested by your son." Jahim replaced his sword on his back. "I want you to remember that I beat the Immortal Son of the Moon."

"I… I…" Dahabi managed a smile. "I yield. The victory is yours."

Jahim made the fire cease, and Dahabi's limbs slowly began to regenerate. Jahim breathed deep, and the fiery wings at his back flickered away, though his burning hair lingered. He retrieved his shirt and coat from the ground, quietly putting them back on as Dahabi stood up on his fresh legs, turning to him.

"You have won, the day is yours. These men," he said, gesturing around to the High Priest, "are as much yours as they are mine now. You are now my Warchief, Jahim Arc." He kneeled, facing Jahim, and all of the knights around him followed his example, bowing to their new leader. Only Tahir still stood, and he began walking towards Jahim.

"I am _not_ yours," he spat. "I do not serve dogs who were let off their leashes." Jahim merely stared at him, further boiling his blood. "You _will_ address me! You will face me!"

"No." Jahim coldly said. "I will not fight an injured man. Additionally, you're a wanted escapee criminal." He turned to Dahabi. "Return this man to his prison cell."

"As you wish," Dahabi said, before beckoning two knights over.

Tahir turned to the knights, and then to Jahim. "You are not safe. Not now, not ever." Tahir then vanished, the wind howling as it filled the space he tore through to escape.

"We will find him," Dahabi said. "You have my word." He rose to his feet. "Tomorrow, I will talk to Arc about making a meeting with your Kingdom's leader and negotiating joining Vale."

"Good," Jahim said, "I'll follow the news, and keep you to your words."

As Jahim walked to the opening in the woods, Dahabi spoke up once more. "I realize this opinion may not be worth much, but your strength fills me with pride."

Jahim stopped, but didn't turn to Dahabi. "After what you've said and done in the past 24 hours, to me and my friends, your pride is worth less to me than almost anything."

Without another word, Jahim walked out of the clearing, and back towards Nikos.

It was into the wee hours of the morning when Jahim reached the Nikos infirmary, and entered to see Nero on one of the beds, sleeping peacefully. Jay was nowhere to be seen, and Jahim assumed she must have had biotics and been discharged already. Jahim made sure his hair was covered by the red skullcap he had pulled from his closet, before sitting next to Nero's bed, and gently rousing him from his sleep. Nero's eyes fluttered open, and he immediately smiled as they fell on Jahim.

"You're okay," Nero said, his voice quiet from tiredness.

"Of course I am," Jahim said, "I made a promise."

Nero sat up in his bed, and hugged Jahim tight. "You did it, you actually did it."

Jahim hugged him back, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Kasbah won't try to hurt any of us anymore. It's over, it's finally over."

Nero scooted back, still holding onto Jahim. "Come here," he said, pulling Jahim onto the small cot next to him, both boys lying down while still tangled into each other. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm sorry," Jahim said. "I'm sorry they hurt you."

"It's not your fault," Nero said.

"It is!" Jahim said, pulling Nero in tighter. "They hurt you to try to get to me."

"And it didn't work," Nero said, softly, "because you're so strong. You've always been strong. It's one of the things I love most about you."

Jahim smiled at Nero. "I have someone to fight for other than me now." He closed the distance, and kissed Nero, breaking off and smiling at him. Nero returned the smile, and pressed his forehead into Jahim's, before closing his eyes. It wasn't long before Nero fell back asleep, and Jahim followed suit, exhaustion combining with the comfort of being held by his boyfriend soothing him to sleep.


	55. Kotov Syndrome

Nero awoke naturally, his eyes fluttering open as he yawned. He reached out, and found the warmth that had soothed him back to sleep wasn't there anymore. He sat up, wincing as he did and feeling his abdomen. Apparently, the biotics had work to do yet. Nero turned his head, and found two papers on his bedside stand. This first one was his discharge sheet, and after he took it into his hand, he found that he was clear to leave, and so long as he rested and applied the biotics they were giving him nightly, he'd be combat-ready before the week was up. He looked at the second paper, and scrawled on it was a familiarly messy handwriting that made Nero smile.

 _Nero, sorry I left. It was getting late and you looked so peaceful. I'll probably be training in the gym all day, so if you want come down there!_

 _Lo-_

 _Jahim_

Nero grinned wider, his face reddening at the unfinished and scratched out _love_ on the note. _Is it too soon for that?_ Nero thought to himself. _Probably, but it's still adorable. Also I might have let the same thing slip last night sooooo… shit_. He scratched the back of his head, before swinging his legs off the bed and gingerly standing up. He was stiff, but otherwise walking was fine. He walked out the door, and down several hallways before arriving at the gym, and hearing shouts and clashing metal within. He entered, and was greeted with the sight of Jahim and Jay dueling with their blades, Jahim flowing into his strikes and shattering Jay's guard with almost no effort. Nero moved to the stands, sitting next to Donovan and Alice.

"Hey Nero," Alice said, "you feeling alright?"

"Eh, I'm okay," Nero replied. "You'd be surprised how much I can take."

"I'm sorry that you got involved," Donovan said. "We would have moved our plan faster had we realized you were taken."

"Wait, there was a plan?" Nero asked.

"Indeed, you didn't think we'd send Jahim in without a fallback, did you?" Donovan said with a chuckle. "Headmaster Arc was overwatching the entire thing. He had used his spirits to take out the Kasbahn operatives hidden in the city, so that if we had to intervene, Dahabi couldn't start the fight from inside the city. Jahim was never at risk."

Nero smiled, turning back to watch Jahim and Jay spar. Jahim was currently clashing blades with Jay, before twirling his blade in a motion that forcefully tore Amaryllis from Jay's grip. As the crimson sword clattered to the ground, Jahim leveled the tip of his sword, and Jay's throat, who raised her hands in defeat.

"Shit, dude, I'm worse than I thought," Jay said, walking over and collecting her blade, sheathing it in its scabbard at her hip. "Good fight."

"Yeah," Jahim said, replacing his blade at his back before scratching the cap still covering his hair. "You've got a long way to go, but that's what training's for. Plus, you've got a lot of tools you weren't using. I'll bet you'll be great in no time."

"What's that style you're using?" Jay asked, thinking back to Jahim's fluid, almost dance-like style. "It's really hard to defend against."

"It's, uh, kinda embarassing," Jahim said. "Before I… escaped, we were all forced to learn dances for, uh, entertaining the men at the palace. I was really good at blade dancing, and when I got out, I weaponized it. Nobody's seen it before, so it catches people off guard."

"That's badass, taking their bullshit and using it against them," Jay said. "Think you could teach it to me?"

"I really don't." Jahim said. "You're not as flexible, and you're a lot slower and stronger than me. Plus, your sword isn't as heavy as mine, so your momentum wouldn't be as good. You're much better off learning a more traditional style, probably one that utilizes that tricked out scabbard you've got."

"You're probably right," Jay said, sheepishly scratching the back of her neck.

"Okay, I'm gonna ask it," Nero said, chiming into their conversation, "what's with the cap?"

Jahim froze, and turned to Nero. "Hey, Nero! You're looking better."

"I've been wondering that myself," Donovan said. "Jahim, are you hiding something from us?"

Jahim sputtered, trying to fabricate a response, but hung his head and sighed. "You guys promise not to freak out?" The group all nodded, and Jahim sighed again, before reaching up and tugging the cap off. Everyone's eyes went wide, aside from Alice's, as Jahim's burning hair was revealed, softly crackling atop his head.

"Okay," Jay said, "I know I promised not to freak out, but what the _fuck_?"

"My semblance awoke when I was fighting my father," Jahim said. "This isn't even all of it." Jahim breathed deep, and his wings of fire appeared, and spread wide. "I can make fire, look," he said, before conjuring a small pillar of fire in the palm of his outstretched hands. "I haven't tested it very much, but I know it's powerful."

"This is… _incredible_ ," Donovan said.

Nero, meanwhile, had made his way over to Jahim, a worried look on his face. "Does it hurt?"

"No, no, no, Nero I'm fine," Jahim assured. "This fire's around room temperature. It's strange, but, it's kinda cool."

Nero hesitantly reached his hand out, and was surprised when not only did the wing coming from Jahim's back not burn him, it seemed to have _mass_. "Jahim, can you move these?"

"I… don't know," Jahim said, looking over his shoulder. "How would I?"

"Try flexing your shoulder blades," Jay said. Jahim did, and the wings on his back flexed in response. Jay walked over, seeming to measure the wings in her head as she looked at them, before her eyes shot open wide. "Dude, you could fly with these!"

"I could?" Jahim said, trying to flex them back into a folded state.

"Oh, easily," Jay said, a smile forming on her face. "They're not as big as mine, but the ratio to your height is way bigger. You'll fly easier than me out of my armour, for sure."

"Would you teach me?" Jahim said, looking up to Jay with a smile on his face.

Jay froze, and didn't speak for a moment. She smiled, and let out a chuckle. "You… y'know, I never really thought I'd get to teach anyone to… to _fly_ …" Tears began to form in her eyes, as she looked down at Jahim. "I would… I would _love_ to teach you, Jahim. Please, let me teach you…" she murmured, and Jahim turned and hugged her, rubbing her back as she sniffled and choked. "Thank you, thank you," she repeated, as Jahim held her.

"I would be honoured to learn from you, Jay," Jahim said, and they parted, the others coming around and standing with one another. Jahim looked around, and smiled. "It should be good to just… live for awhile. No more villains, or Tahir, or anything. Just, living."

"Just living? No bullshit? No battles? No wars?" Jay said, smiling ear to ear. "Now _that's_ an idea I can get behind."

"Okay, but where _are_ we going?"

Jahim had been following Yang through Vale for nearly fifteen minutes. He had arrived with the team at the Four Maidens for drinks later in the day, when Yang had whisked him away and taken him for this walk to, well, _somewhere_.

"To your 4:30, kiddo," Yang said.

"What?" Jahim said, before Yang came to a stop, and pointed at the building next to her. It was a clinic, one that looked pristine and clean, wholly unlike the kind of place _Yang Xiao Long_ would take someone. "What is this place?"

"It's a clinic, specializing in, er, sex things? I dunno what the best term is for it, but I scheduled you a 4:30 with the doc, to, er, obtain some hormones, if you want it. I took care of everything, it's all paid for, don't worry about that, but if you want it, it's there for you." Yang chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. "Sorry that it's short notice, but, I, er, kinda only thought of this an hour ago. Plus you were _kinda_ an underage kid in my bar and I needed an excuse to get you out, so… _yeaaaah_."

"How did you do all this?" Jahim said, knowing how packed places like this tended to be, with waiting lists miles long.

"The doctor in question _may_ also be known as the legendary engineer and mechanic Power Tool, who built Lawbreaker and worked with the Dragons for twenty or so years, but you didn't hear that from me," Yang said, laughing again. "Plus, I've known Dr. Lua for my whole life, he'll treat you right."

"Thank you," Jahim said, hugging Yang tight.

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" Yang pulled away, smiling at Jahim. "Now, be honest with him, and follow his instructions _carefully_. You fuck this up, it can really hurt you. Trust me, he knows best." She checked her watch, and began to walk past Jahim. "I gotta get back, but take care of yourself, okay kiddo?"

Jahim nodded, and turned towards the door, he reached out, before turning back to Yang. "Wait, how do you know all this?"

Yang turned her head to look over her shoulder, and winked at Jahim, a knowing smile on her face. Jahim paused for a moment, before gasping, and turning back to the door with an even bigger smile on his face.

The Dark Skies fortress underneath the Living Mire was unusually noisy for this late in the evening. It had been weeks since the conclusion of the Vytal tournament, and Dark Skies had been biding its time, recovering from its losses in Atlas and planning again. It is for this reason that the raid horns being sounded, and troops being sent towards the front of the base was surprising. Lady Knightscape sat in her throne, monitoring the chaos on her terminal, when the doors at the end of the hall opened and slammed quickly, a frightened soldier leaning against it to try to keep it shut.

"My Lady!" the soldier yelled, "there is a warrior tearing through all of us! They're headed this way!"

"I am aware, child," Knightscape said, "I'm monitoring them here."

"Where is he?" The soldier asked, panic in their voice continuing into their scream as the doors behind them blew off their hinges, a fist lingering in the air from beneath a hooded cloak from a punch that sent the soldier into the chair in front of them, knocking them out.

"There," Knightscape said, standing from her chair. "Well, you seem to want something from Dark Skies, traveler." She walked down the stairs to her throne and around the table, to face the figure. They were towering, far taller than the lady, but were completely obscured by the black cloak that shrouded their body. "What do you want from me?"

"What do I want?" the traveler asked, their voice deep and rough. "I want my homeland to not be a vassal to a false freedom. I want my people to not serve Vale, in some strange notion of 'equality'. I want my beliefs to be upheld. These are all things I want, but they are not why I'm here. I'm here for what I need," he said, pulling his hood down. Beneath her mask, Knightscape grinned as the flowing white hair and beard of Tahir Farid were exposed, his expression one of pure wrath. "I need Hamr ā's head on a spike."

Knightscape held her ground, looking him dead in the eye. "Kneel to me, and you shall have that."

Tahir paused, before falling to his knee, and looking up at Knightscape. "If you help me kill my sister, you will have my undying loyalty."

Knightscape allowed herself another smile. "Then may you cast Dark Skies, my Knightterror."


	56. Moving Forward

Amber and Donovan sat opposite each other in the library, a chessboard well into a game settled between them. Donovan drummed his metal fingers on the table, thinking for a long time before moving his black knight. Amber smirked, before taking it with her bishop, giggling at the soft "Dammit" Donovan muttered to himself as Amber placed the piece next to the handful of others she had taken, Donovan losing by a wide margin.

"You're distracted," Amber said, a smile on her face as she tried to comfort Donovan.

"No, you know chess isn't my game to begin with," Donovan said, managing a smile at the sight of Amber's. "Though I'll admit I'm doing poorer than usual," he continued, taking Amber's pawn with his own, before promptly losing his last rook to the same bishop that had taken his knight.

"Y'know, for the former leader of a guerilla black ops unit, your strategy isn't the best." Amber said, with a sarcastic giggle.

"I'm a hunter, not a strategist," Donovan said. "I operate when the enemy isn't aware of my actions fully. When the playing field is even, I've never done well. Our fights have displayed this."

"Well, it's hardly a fair comparison when we spar," Amber said. "Augmented super soldier versus forest-dwelling cybrid?"

"I haven't lived in a forest for at least…" Donovan did the math in his head. "Two years? I lived in Vale on Professor Rose's sponsorship for a year before coming here, so I think it's been around two since then." He shook his head. "That's not the point though. The point is, I'm not the best at thinking, is it on the fly?"

"Yeah," Amber said. "Look at you, using sayings and stuff. Next you'll be telling me things are paprik."

"I know enough common to know that's not a word," Donovan said, rolling his eyes with a smile. He sighed, closing them. "It really has been a whole year, hasn't it?"

"It felt long, but I'm not the best judge," Amber said, waiting for Donovan to see the board. "This is only my second year, ever." She noticed a cool pressure on her hand, seeing a metal one come to rest on top of it. "Donovan it's okay, I'm fine." She flipped her hand, locking her fingers with Donovan's. "Think of it like this. How many girls can say half of their life has been this amazing?" Donovan's smile widened, and he leaned over the table, kissing her forehead, before sitting back down. "Also," she continued, "checkmate."

Donovan's eyes bulge, looking down at the board, before sighing again. "Shit."

"You're swearing more too," Amber said around her laughing. She composed herself, and looked at Donovan. "That was probably for the best, we have the meeting today right?"

Donovan nodded, his smile returning. "Today's the day."

Amber nodded as well, standing up with him. "And that makes tomorrow the day we take our pasts back."

They walked out of the library, Donovan's confidence flying high.

While the meeting wasn't for another half hour, Donovan had been standing in the office he had rented for the occasion for at least a full hour already. He had prepared all the notes, gone through everything mentally, rigged the holo-projector so Alice could see, and now there wasn't anything to do but wait for everyone to arrive.

The first to show up was a surprise, as Nao and Gloria walked into the room. Donovan and his team had been working closely with both women throughout the past few months, traveling to Mistral for visits or for missions, and always managing to run into the now-widely known pair of ever-destructive girls. It was for said destructiveness Donovan had them flown in, and paid well for their time on this sensitive mission. They walked up, each hugging Donovan, before taking seats at the table.

"You're lookin' good, love," Gloria said, putting her feet up on the coffee table.

"Yeah," Nao agreed, "if you're drafting missions in your second year, you're doing something right."

Donovan took their praise with a simple nod, as Jay and Alice sauntered into the room. Greetings were exchanged between the ladies, before Jay and Alice took seats of their own. Not far behind was Nero, Amber, Sienna, and Jahim, all following suit and taking their own seats. Donovan looked at the one empty seat left in the room, his eyebrow raising. "Where's Porfirio?"

Sienna immediately snapped to attention, being quick to respond. "He's, uh, sick! Yeah, he's _suuuuuuuper_ sick, won't be here, nope."

Donovan sighed. With Porfirio, 'sick' meant he was already drunk. He checked his watch. 11:30 AM. _This is getting out of control_ , he thought. "That's fine," Donovan lied, "I can just get the notes he needs to him after. Now, everyone's here, we can talk about the big job." Donovan turned on the holo-projector, a simple display of a file being shown. "I'm sure you're all familiar with the basics, but for the record's sake, we'll go back over it." The display changed to Jay's sword. "While Jay was doing her overhaul on Amaryllis, she discovered a very small drive of information, stored within the scabbard that had been added long after the weapon's original period of use. However, the data was _extremely_ heavily encrypted by personal passcodes. It's taken Oolong 2 full months, but we finally gained access to the files inside it 3 weeks ago, and what was inside revealed a great deal." Another keystroke, and several word files showed up. "Cole Stormbringer, alias 'Knightmare' and leader of Dark Skies, is working with several other terror organizations in what looks to be a coalition of forces, called Edge of Night. Through descriptions of some of the members, we've identified one of these organizations working with them as the Khada, a Cabal of twisted 'monks' that are nothing more than glorified mercenaries. Their leader," Donovan said, bringing a 3-D hologram of a man in his late fourties, with greying brown hair, brown eyes, and flawless skin, "Chroma Balisong, is an extremely dangerous serial killer who escaped from Atlas' military prison 5 years ago. He is named several times in these documents as 'Knightsnow'. Apparently, he and Knightmare have high-running tensions, and if these notes are any indication, he plans on acting on those tensions." Donovan changed the display, to now show a large swamp.

"This is the Living Mire," Gloria said, "the fuck are they doing with that?"

"Hiding under it," Donovan said, changing the picture again to a diagram of a large, subterranean complex. "These notes were in the file, and this would appear to be the base where the coalition resides, underneath the Living Mire. There is a lift that resides in the center of the Mire, with each of the members having their own way of making it through the marsh. Regardless, within these halls are both Dark Skies and the Khada, and 5 days from now, Knightmare is planning on challenging the Khada for their position in the group, and to gain more control within it." Donovan grinned. "We are going to use that opportunity, and strike this base, destroy Edge of Night, and bring peace." Donovan reveled in the small murmurs of astoundment at the plan, before continuing. "Now, we can't get in through the Mire, meaning we need to come in from above. However, it's likely they're watching the skies for air vehicles, so we can't use them. Instead, we'll use this," Donovan said, changing the view to a camera feed of a cave, where a familiar, brown-marked Nevermore slept. "My tamed Nevermore will fly us in, and pick us up. We'll drop down, and infiltrate the base, taking down the organization."

There was a brief pause, before Jay spoke out. "Not to be _that_ guy, but… why are _we_ doing this? This sounds like a job for the big guys themselves."

"There's a suitable risk this a is a trap, meant to divert us. Were we to send in all our most powerful huntsmen, a full-force strike could decimate Vale. We're also the only group on Remnant all with experience with Dark Skies, and in the files I found Gloria's team has traded blows with the Khada before." Donovan allowed his grin to return. "And, to be fair, we're not going in all alone." He flicked his hand, and a video feed flew into view, Yang Xiao Long grinning at the group.

"What's up, nerds? Guess which criminal mastermind's gonna help you kick some ass?" Yang said, earning laughter and awe.

" _Yang's_ coming with us?" Gloria asked. "Wicked."

"Yang's coming as a 'Plan B' of sorts. Jaune's given her clearance to 'cut loose', as Yang put it, should things go awry."

"Yep!" Yang said enthusiastically. "You kids are, well, hopefully _not_ gonna see me goin' all out."

Donovan chuckled, before returning to the document. "Now, let's go over the details."

Donovan knocked on team ASNL's door, knowing only one person was inside, and he wasn't going to respond. Donovan sighed, pushing the door open, and seeing the sole occupant of the Dorm room.

Porfirio was in only his underwear, his tail drooped on the ground. He was sat at his desk, pouring a glass of liquor that smelled so strongly Donovan began to cough. Porfirio turned to him as he coughed, his eyes narrowing. "What do _you_ want?"

"To give you your mission briefings. That you missed," Donovan said, slapping a file onto the desk. "Porfirio, it's barely noon. What's gotten into you?" In response, Porfirio simply laughed. "What?"

"You don't even know, do you?" Porfirio said, slamming the drink before pouring another. "Today's _the_ day."

"What day?"

Porfirio slammed his drink again. "Two years. It's been two whole _fuckin'_ years."

"Two years since what?" Donovan asked. When Porfirio went to pour another drink, Donovan grabbed his hand. Porfirio glared, before begrudgingly setting the bottle down.

"Two years since _Vacuo_. Since we lost Amber. Since _I_ lost my twin sister."

"Porfirio…"

"No," Porfirio said. "You don't get to _pity_ me when you're too busy fucking my baby sister to ever learn what fucking happened."

"Por-"

"No!" Porfirio shouted. "You need to hear this. You want to come in here and judge me for drinking? Fine. But I get to tell you why. So sit down." Donovan started to talk again, before sighing and sitting down. "Good." Porfirio said, turning to face him, his tail once again coiling around his waist, signifying he was at least thinking as usual now. "It's time you learned about what happened in Vacuo, Donovan."


	57. Blood in Technicolour

"I can't believe I let you two talk me into this," Amber said, following her brother and Jahim down a beaten path in the Vacuo dunes. It was the last day of the Xiao Long's family vacation in Vacuo, on which Amber had brought Jahim, for reasons everyone but her mothers were painfully aware of. The trio had been given the day to themselves, the older women wanting their own time for an even worse kept secret activity, one that, knowing their mothers, would likely cost them however much the bed they were on costs to replace. Porfirio sighed and put his hands behind his head, his tail up in the air and resting just below them.

"Hey, I told you we had to see the Dust Spring, and you even said you wanted to go," He said, not even looking back at her, making Amber pout somewhat.

"Yeah, in a car, I'd even settle for a horse-drawn carriage at this point," Amber said with a sigh. "I'm not exactly a huntress, you know."

Jahim turned back, taking a look at his girlfriend. Her tiny form was drenched in sweat, her feline ears drooped forward as her long hair flapped in the wind. "You wanna hop up on my back, Am?"

" _Please_ ," Amber breathed, before climbing up onto Jahim's back, slumping down onto his shoulder and closing her eyes. "Ah, this is _so_ much better."

Jahim smiled, marveling at just how _little_ Amber weighed, to the point where 2 hours into a desert hike it still wasn't any effort to carry her. "Y'know, it's not too late to do some training, Am. We could get you into great shape."

"We _could_ , or I could finish the series I'm reading right now," Amber said, perking her head up and opening her eyes again. "I don't need to get strong, that's what I have you guys for, right?"

"Damn straight," Porfirio said. "The day mom, or fuck even I let you fight is the day the desert freezes over."

Amber smirked. "Well, now I kinda wanna do it just out of spite," Amber said, sticking her tongue out at her brother, earning a chuckle from him.

"Aren't you supposed to be the more mature, wise one, little Ms. Bookworm?" Porfirio said.

Amber scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I'm the smart one, you're the dumb one, and J's the cute one."

"Gah, can it, you're so gross," Porfirio gagged. Alice giggled, leaning over and pecking Jahim on the cheek, making Porfirio shake his head. "So if you guys are done with your PDA, it looks like we're here."

Amber and Jahim looked away from each other, before both going wide eyed at the sight in front of them. The Dust Spring was an oasis settled on top of a giant dust crystal cavern, and the crystals had a beautiful effect on the area. The water shone brilliantly, tiny specs of dust entering the water to make it dazzle as the harsh desert sun bore down on it. The dust also seeped into the sand around it, creating something of a rainbow beach around the oasis. Combined with the stubborn flora around them, the oasis was one of the most beautiful spots on Remnant, which explained the other tourists around them.

The trio had settled under the shade of a palm tree, looking out at the glistening water and reveling in the sight. Amber leaned against Jahim, while Porfirio looked around him, at the other people there. He narrowed his eyes, noticing that they were all dressed in full body black outfits, seeming far too hot for the desert weather. He then spied them talking to one another,, before slowly getting up. When he saw they were all wearing masks, he slowly rose to his feet.

"Guys, it's time to go," he said, priming his gauntlets.

Jahim noticed the action, and his hand lingered at the sheathed sword at his hip. He suddenly regretted not bringing his gun. "Why, is something the matter?"

Gunfire answered the question, the kids leaping to cover as all of the masked individuals opened fire on them, the bullets bouncing off of trees and rocks as Porfirio looked at Jahim and Amber. His sister was holding onto Jahim for dear life, and Jahim seemed scared as well. Porfirio turned to peek around the rock he hid behind, and spied the figures. There were four, three of them looking identical, in plain white masks, all seeming to be male, while the fourth was different. They looked female, for one, and her mask was more ornate, resembling a skull. They continued firing on them, and Porfirio looked at Jahim.

"Protect her! I can take them!" he shouted. Jahim's look became more worried, but he still nodded, his grip on his blade tightening. Porfirio waited for a gap in the shots, before flaring his semblance and surging forward, laying a strike into the mask of one goon and knocking him out. They seemed to lack aura, judging by how easily he knocked that one out, and the guard next to him going down after a single blast of flame confirmed it. The other two masks ran towards the place Amber was, and Porfirio sprinted towards them. The last plain mask tried to throw a punch, which Porfirio caught, and shattered the mask's arm before tossing him to the ground. He continued, and found the last mask, the one resembling a skull, standing opposite Jahim, whose blade was out and ready. Porfirio readied himself, and the mask just laughed, the mouth on her mask opening and snapping shut with her jaw.

"More and more canvases keep appearing before me. Oh, to be able to make you into _masterpieces_ … but my commissioner only requests the girl, for me to work upon." She laughed to herself again, before four hooked steel claws shot out of her wristguards. "If you give me her, This can end without any ink being wasted."

"You'll take my sister over my dead body, you bitch!" Porfirio shouted, before charging the woman. He struck several times, but found each strike blocked, before finally having one be caught.

"Unfortunately, I'll have to settle for your unconscious one. My commissioner wanted only one canvas drawn on today." She twisted his arm, spinning him before kicking his back, knocking him to the ground. She spun on her heel, catching Jahim's sword between her blades. "A mere swordsman? How droll." Her eyes glanced up and down Jahim, before she chuckled. "Though, you have interesting details below the surface. I would _so_ enjoy making you into my canvas, but perhaps another time." She twisted her arms, the blades clashing before snapping Jahim's sword in two. As Jahim stared in wonder, the woman retracted her blades, before grabbing Jahim's head and slamming it into her swiftly raised knee, knocking him out. She turned, and caught the punch Porfirio had attempted to deliver. "You are annoying. Cute, but annoying. And I was hoping to not waste any precious ink." She tripped Porfirio, and when he landed on his face, she slashed across the back of one of his knees, completely severing the tendons. Porfirio screamed, turning his head just in time to see the mask's foot collide with Amber's temple, her body going limp. The woman then felt around her own body, before sighing. "Of all the times to forget my brush…" She walked over to Porfirio, and unsheathed a single of her blades. "This will have to do, I suppose." Almost faster than Porfirio could react, the mask grabbed his tail, yanking it to its full length before severing it at the base. Porfirio shouted again, the pain searing in his lower back. The mask walked to the rock, and began humming as she placed the bloody end to the rock's surface, and began painting with it. She continued to hum, before muttering to herself, "gah, this would be _so_ much easier if blood came in more colours. There!" She walked back, tossing the limp tail aside, and looking at her work. It was a near semi-circle, with a small dot over it. "That will do, I suppose." Porfirio knew he could do something, throw fire, try to stand, _something_ , but he remained still as the mask scooped up Amber's small, limp form, and walked away. Porfirio reached into his pocket, dialing his mother, and pressing call before the shock wore off and he passed out.

"There," Porfirio said, "you know now. About everything."

"Porfirio, I…" Donovan said, stumbling on his words. "How did you get your tail back?"

Porfirio guffawed at the question. "After all that, _that's_ what you're hung up on?"

Donovan looked at the floor, embarrassed. "There was so much to unpack, I just… I'm sorry."

"I don't blame you, to be honest." He reached to the base of his tail, and peeled some of the skin back, revealing the dull gleam of stainless steel. "Replacement faunus limbs are very niche, so the tech isn't quite there yet, even in this day and age. It's slow to move, and weighs a tonne. That's why I usually keep it wrapped around my waist. Not only that," he said, replacing the skin, "but the tendons in my knee were not only irreparable, but the wound had gotten infected by the time we were found. The leg had to be amputated, so I've got this," he peeled more of his skin back, revealing his left, metallic leg. "I haven't told Amber. I don't want her to think it's her fault."

"Porfirio…"

"After… after I woke up, Mom took us back to Vale. Mom's Yang, by the way. Mother needed to stay in Vacuo, to help with the investigation, leaving just me and Mom, and even that didn't last long. One day, I wheeled myself out into the kitchen and found a note. Mom left. She had gone out to hunt for her, and left me, her crippled son behind. It's a detail she enjoys leaving out of her speeches about recovery." Donovan noticed him tense. "That's when the drinking started. I drowned my misery, until there wasn't any drink left. That's when Power Tool called. He'd fashioned me a leg, without any request. He got me back on my feet, and got me fighting again. Fighting and drinking, that's all my life became. I got good, damn good, damn good at both. Then-"

"She came back."

Both boys snapped to the doorframe, where Jay leaned against it. She was dressed casually, an unbuttoned flannel resting over a black tank and jeans. Her diamond eye caught some reflected light as she looked into the room, and at the two shocked men inside it. "You left the door open?" Porfirio asked.

"I didn't-"

"Relax, I'm alone. The others are all out in town, but I came here to work on something when I overheard you two." She turned to Porfirio. "And that's not a story I've heard before."

"Oh what, you're gonna judge me now too?" Porfirio said.

"Yeah, I am," Jay said, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her, "because you're coming down with something that I tend to. You're putting the world on your shoulders. What happened wasn't your fault."

"Explain to me how me losing a fight that got my twin sister kidnapped and brainwashed isn't my fault," Porfirio said. "Explain that to me."

"Because the same thing happened to me, when the tower came down." Jay said, sighing. "I fought Knightmare, one on one, to save those people, and I failed. More than four hundred people died, because I lost that fight." Her fists balled up. "I beat myself up for a long time after that. Fuck, I still have nightmares, see those people in my dreams. But it's not my fault. It never was. It's the bastard who did it's fault. Always was."

"But I-"

"-was mortally injured," Jay finished. "I know it hurts, P, but this isn't your burden to shoulder alone. We have the same problem, we think that our friends should be spared this pain, the pain of holding this responsibility and guilt, but c'mon man, look around you. Your friends are some of the not only strongest, but smartest and kindest people around." She chuckled to herself. "Y'know, it's funny, I told Alice something real similar a year ago, on that first night. You're not alone, P. Let us in, and we can help you." Porfirio was silent, and Jay shook her head. "How about this, if you're apprehensive. I'll tell my own story."

"What?" Porfirio asked, snapping back up.

"I'll tell you about how I found your sister."

Visage looked at the coordinates on her scroll, and at the small bunker barely visible through all the foliage and camouflage it was nested in, in the lone forest in all of Vacuo. _This is definitely the place_ , she thought, pocketing the device before walking up to the door. If for no other reason than humour, she decided to try the doorknob, with predictable results. _Oh damn, it's locked,_ she thought, before taking a step back. _Guess I'd better knock_ , she continued to herself, before leaning back and kicking the door. The metal door shot off its hinges, clattering down the staircase that Visage leapt down, landing in front of a pair of steel double doors that she opened in a similar fashion. Inside, a crowd of Dark Skies goons, all in their signature black getups and masks, snapped to her, with the main target at the back of the room already looking at her. The leader of this branch of Dark Skies, Knightshade, had been clashing with her all throughout the past few months as Visage tore her way through the organization in Vacuo. Knightshade wore elaborate black plate armour, with a sleek, angular helmet obscuring their entire head, and a billowing cape flowing from their shoulders.

"You… You're the huntress that's been messing with my branch for these past few months," Knightshade said.

"Well I'm not a huntress," Visage said, "just an orphan with a grudge."

Knightshade chuckled, before flicking their hand forward. At their signal, the other goons charged, some brandishing basic firearms. Bullets glanced off Visage's armour, as she effortlessly answered the various attacks from the aura-less masks that crumpled in front of her.  
When the last mask fell, she turned back to her opponent, only to find Knightshade gone. She snapped back to the staircase, hearing heavy footsteps that she quickly followed. She found Knightshade standing in the clearing outside the bunker, holding a comically large sword, making Visage chuckle.

"You compensating for something there?" Visage said.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Knightshade said, before leaping forward, moving with inhuman speed for the size of both themself than their blade. Visage barely dodged the strike, before rising to guard the next blow. This proved fruitless, as the blocked strike still bore enough force to knock Visage to the side and into a tree. Visage quickly rose and rolled out of the way as another slash felled the tree she impacted against. As the next strike came, Visage braced herself, and caught the strike, skidding backward a few feet but maintaining her posture. She shouted as she heaved the blade upward, slamming it and the person holding it into the ground with all her might before tossing the blade aside. Knightshade rose, and attempted to swing at Visage. As the first punch missed, Visage grabbed the limb, and broke it backward over her knee. Knightshade barely seemed to notice, their other arm surging forward, and meeting the same fate. Visage kicked Knightshade in the chest, before leaping onto them and laying blow after blow into their head.

"I'm gonna make you feel every last one of them! Every single person you people killed!" She grasped the underside of their helmet, and grinned under her own. "And I'm gonna look you in the eye when I do!" She tore the helmet off, disengaging her own, before winding a punch back. Her frenzy halted, however, when she looked at who was under the mask. The girl was barely 17, if that, hardly someone to be running a terror cell. Yet, that wasn't what caught her eye. She'd seen this blonde, amber eyed faunus girl before, on TV. A missing person.

Amber Xiao Long.

"Why are you hesistating? Do it!" Amber spat angrily, and Jay struck, only knocking her unconscious. She paused, thinking for a long time, before sighing, and hoisting the girl up onto her back, grabbing her giant sword, and walking back into town.

 _I'm getting soft._

Jay sat up on the hospital rooftop, thinking about what had happened that day. She had set out for a simple assassination, and ended up, well, _here_. She'd reunited a family, saved a hostage, and even landed herself a spot at Nikos Academy, should she want it. She was even getting a modest payday for doing what she was doing right now, keeping watch, making sure Amber didn't leave. She sighed, thinking back to her. She felt terribly sorry for her in some ways, even if it was hard to. Amber had been fed nothing but falsehoods and rhetoric her entire life, as short as it has been, so could she really be faulted for her actions? Jay sighed again. She supposed that was up to what she did.

A sudden rustling and _thud_ caught her attention, and answered her question, as Amber lept from her hospital room to the ground, and made a beeline for the trees at the edge of town. Jay lept from the rooftop, and flew overhead, landing in front of her just ahead of the treeline. Amber jumped in surprise, but narrowed her eyes at the sight of the Avian.

"You… what are you doing here?" Amber said.

"My job," Jay said, crossing her arms. "What are _you_ doing?"

"Leaving," Amber said, her feline ears laying back. "Why do you care? I thought you hated me, Ms. 'Make you feel every last one of them'?"

Jay tensed at the bite, but sighed. "I did, yeah, until I learned about you. Heck of a mom you've got. Really, the whole family. Why run from that?"

Amber looked away, her expression softening somewhat. "I'm not their daughter, niece, sister, anything. I'm not who they lost. They lost 'Amber'. I'm just Knightshade."

"You may not have your memories, but you're still that person, Amber," Jay said.

"Am I anyone anymore?" Amber said, looking at her hands. "Everything I know is a lie. I'm a biological… _freak_. They took everything from me. My mind, my body, my life, _everything_. And they made me do things that the more I think about them, the more I realize I was… wrong. So, so wrong."

"That makes you human, Amber," Jay said. "Well, a faunus, but you get the point. The fact that you realize you're in the wrong means you can begin to right that."

Amber shook her head. "How do I even begin to?" She looked at Jay, her tear stained eyes lingering on the large black wings, before finding the crimson eyes looking at her. "You should know better than anyone that I can't."

Jay sighed, shaking her head, and was silent for a moment. "You want to make things right? Then come with me."

"What?"

"Come with me to Nikos," Jay said. "Become a huntress with me. You wanna make things right? Use that body they gave you, and take them down with me."

"You would stand with me?" Amber said in disbelief, "Someone who worked with the organization that killed your people?"

Jay shook her head. "I don't see a terrorist when I look at you. Not anymore. I see a girl who's life was taken from her, and wants more than anything to take it back." She outstretched her hand. "And part of me wants to help her get it."

Amber managed to smile, taking the larger woman's hand. "Deal."

Jay smiled back, shaking her hand. "Seriously though, you need to go back to the hospital. If they find you not in that bed, I don't get paid."

Amber, to Jay's surprise, giggled, making her redden somewhat. "Okay," Amber said, and the two walked back to the hospital.

"The next year after that was some ride, man," Jay said, smiling at Donovan and Porfirio as she finished her story. "We'd meet in secret every now and then, talk, train, catch up. We even kinda, uh, dated for a little while," she said, blushing a little bit. "It didn't really work out for us romantically, but I'd still consider Amber my best friend on Remnant, bar maybe Alice." Donovan was shocked, but quickly composed himself at Jay's giggling at him. "Point is, in all that time, she's never blamed anyone for what happened to her except Dark Skies. They did it, no one else did. She's even stopped blaming herself recently, thanks in no small part to you guys." She looked at Porfirio, who was managing to smile. "You see what I mean?"

"Yeah, yeah I think I'm getting it," Porfirio said. "I'm kinda a piece of shit, aren't I?"

"Trust me, I've been when you were," Jay said. "It's real easy to let the darkness take you. The important part is that you bounce back, and let other people get you there. So, are you gonna let us?"

Porfirio chuckled. "Yeah, on one condition."

"Name it," Donovan said.

"Would you _please_ stop banging my little sister? Both of you, at this point?"

Donovan paled, and Jay joined Porfirio in laughing at Donovan. Donovan sighed, shaking his head. "Insufferable, both of you." He smiled though, glad to see the Porfirio he knew was okay after all.


	58. Like a Fairy Tale

The next three days passed at what felt like lightspeed, leaving only a single evening until the time of the mission. As something of a final sendoff before the mission, Donovan and Amber had invited Alice and Jay on something of a double date, as much as Donovan loathed to call it that. The venue of choice was Goyo's, a _very_ expensive Mistrali cuisine restaurant that fell under the ownership of one Yang Xiao Long herself. Because of this, Amber was able to get them all in without any hassle, allowing the 4 their first 'fancy' outing in as long as any of them could remember. This did, however, mean fancy dress attire was in order. Jay spent the entire day at a tailor, getting a new suit made for her after her old one ceased to fit with Jay somehow managing to grow more. Alice, meanwhile, lacked a dress entirely, leading to a _very_ long and tedious shopping trip.

Jay was currently standing in their dorm, Donovan and Amber long gone, waiting on Alice to finish changing. She took another look in the mirror, making sure everything was on correctly. The black suit was bog-standard, save for its enormous size, and for the slits in the back allowing her wings to comfortably on her back. The bow-tie the same shade of crimson as her eye was snug around her neck, and small lapel pin of her symbol of a crow skull in the same shade was pinned to her jacket. She had let her hair grow past her shoulders for the first time in a long time, and she had it hanging freely around her head. She briefly considered using her future vision to see whether Alice reacted to a this hairdo or a ponytail better, but cast it aside with a chuckle. She'd already used it a tonne during training today, and she didn't need to be passing out in the middle of dinner. Her thoughts of Alice seemed to prompt reality to react, as she turned to the sound of the door opening and ceased to function.

Alice's self consciousness made finding her a dress difficult, as all too many that would have fit her were also far too revealing for her to consider wearing. The one they had finally found, and that she was wearing, was a long gown that flowed unbroken over her entire torso and all the way up her neck, ending just below her jawline. The dress had long, full sleeves that started tight against her arms, but then mirrored the dress itself, opening up into long, billowing sleeves that, along with the white gloves she was wearing, fully masked her cybernetics. She lacked her blindfold or sunglasses, allowing her pale face to be seen in full. The dress in full, when paired with her pale complexion and snow-white, shoulder length hair, she almost resembled a ghost.

"Do I have it on right?" Alice asked, turning around quickly so Jay could see all of her. "I can't exactly look in the mirror."

Jay tried to remember what anything was at all, before shaking her head. "Yeah, you've got it all right," she said, her tone betraying her by hanging on the 'all' far too long. "Fuck, I told you you would look good in a dress man."

Alice giggled, making Jay's composition weaken further. "I'll take both your word and that goofy expression on your face for it."

Jay turned beet-red, thankful as ever that Alice's vision stopped short of colour. "Aw, you were focusing that hard on me?"

Alice smirked, walking over to Jay as her heeled shoes clicked softly against the carpet. The additional height from the shoes made the difference between their heights far less, allowing Alice to drape her arms around Jay's neck and pull her in. "Why wouldn't I be focused on the prettiest thing in the room?"

Jay smiled back at her. "Because you can't see yourself, silly." She leaned down, the two sharing a kiss that lingered _not long enough_ Alice thought as Jay rose back to full height. "C'mon, we have to leave now if we wanna beat the traffic. There's gonna be a wreck in about ten minutes so we need to get on the road now."

Jay turned and opened the door, heading out with Alice not far behind. "Jay," she said, "you didn't use your semblance to try to plan our date in advance, did you?"

Jay chuckled. "I just wanted to make sure we didn't die on the way there. Is that too much?"

"I just don't want you passing out, is all," Alice said.

"Hey," Jay said, taking her hand, "I'll be fine, trust me." Alice smiled, continuing to walk with her. "Oh, by the way," Jay continued, "don't order the Tom Yam Kati, you don't like it."

Jay laughed over Alice's disdainful sigh as they continued down to Jay's new car, a large black truck big enough for her to fit in, and drove to the restaurant.

"You're walking pretty well for your first time in heels," Jay said as the pair of them walked into the restaurant lobby. Jay felt eyes on her from all sides, and while her moderate fame as the Vytal champion was still circling, she had a feeling it was her faunus heritage and scarred visage earning her stares. Alice must have noticed the change in her body language, and quickly found Jay's hand with her own, restoring the larger woman's confidence just as the waiter arrived.

"Welcome to Goyo's, ladies," the waiter said. "Do you have a reservation?"

Jay nodded. "The Xiao Long party."

The waiter's eyes bulged at the proclamation. "That would make you…"

"Ms. Merletta and Ms. Tuyet, yes," Alice said.

The waiter nodded, and quickly lead them to the far back of the venue, far from any of the other patrons, where their friends sat. Donovan wore a similar suit to Jay, though his tie was a deep brown, and he lacked any kind of lapel pin. He wore a single black glove over his cybernetic, but left his eye unobscured. Amber strayed far from Alice's style, wearing a single strap, golden dress that seemed to shimmer in the dim lighting. The pair rose from their chairs, quickly exchanging greetings and hugs before sitting back down at their chairs.

"We're glad you could make it," Amber said, smiling at Jay and Alice.

"My best friend offers me a free meal at the fanciest place in town, and I get to bring the cutest girl in Remnant along?" Jay said, chuckling. "Frankly, I'm a little hurt you even considered the possibility we wouldn't be here."

The group chortled at the humor. "Regardless, this dinner will certainly be better over company," Donovan said, just at their waiter arrived, handing menus to the group before quickly departing. "As the leader of the mission tomorrow, I'll ask you abstain from alcohol," Donovan said, almost directly at Jay.

"Relax, I'm driving," Jay said, before turning to a surprised gasp from Alice.

"Is this menu…" Alice said, staring at the blank sheets contained within that were all dotted with three-dimensional bumps.

"I had Yang run off a braille copy for you," Amber said. "The menu here is pretty long, and I didn't want you here all night with Jay reading it all to you."

Alice smiled at Amber, before reading over everything just in time to have an order ready for the reappearance of the waiter. As he departed, Jay looked over her friends, and grinned. "Man, you gotta wonder how the four of us are even alive, let alone all here, together."

"Yeah," Alice said, "we're all survivors, as a certain _very_ attractive faunus once put it."

Jay reddened slightly at Alice's tone of voice, but composed herself quickly. "I mean, we've got a refugee turned mercenary, a former bio-weapon, a fallen heir, and blind cybrid. And that's without the others back at Nikos!"

Donovan chuckled, shaking his head. "True, but isn't that what the Hunt is all about? Oddities like us, with nowhere else to go, being given a purpose?"

Amber nodded. "That's what I saw it as, anyway. A second chance. Unlike all of you, thankfully, I have wrongs that need righting. I'm finally able to do that."

"I'm just grateful to _have_ a chance," Alice said. "I have a purpose now, that means something." She found Jay's hand under the table. "And, I won't pretend that there hasn't been a substantial side benefit."

"Y'know, I never did thank you for your help with that, Donovan," Jay said, earning a confused expression from Alice. "Oh, er, Donovan _may_ have given me advice on how to ask you out. I was kinda nervous."

Alice started to giggle, before devolving into full blown laughter, eventually wiping her eyes with a napkin. "That's so _adorable_ , oh Gods, Jay," she said through her laughter, as Jay turned her head away in shame.

"Think nothing of it," Donovan said. "The reward for it is seeing two of my close friends so happy together."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, bull!" Jay said, turning back to Donovan. "I've seen you two. Y'all are mushier than mashed potatoes."

"Jay, your accent is creeping in, settle down," Alice said through another giggle fit, causing Jay to breathe deep.

"Outside of our argument on who's the better couple, I'm still glad to be here with the three of you," Jay said. "I don't think I could have chosen a better group of friends to spend this blooming apocalypse with." She raised her glass of water, and the others followed suit, clinking their glasses in a faux toast before drinking.

"Hey, we're gonna nip this apocalypse in the bud tomorrow, remember?" Alice said, smiling.

"Yeah, but I've got this funny feeling about it," Jay said.

"Coming from the girl that sees the future, that's alarming," Donovan said.

"No, not like that," Jay said, "like, that this isn't gonna solve it. That we've still got a long fight ahead of us."

Donovan nodded. "I feel so too. This is not our last battle. An evil like this isn't beaten so easily."

Alice bumped Jay's shoulder, prompting her to turn to the pale girl. "Hey, if we do have a war on our hands, there's no woman on Remnant I'd rather be fighting it with." She turned her gaze across the table. "Sorry, Amber."

"Don't be, I share your sentiment," Amber said. "I'd take a nearly seven foot tall armoured woman who can see the future over myself any time."

"Aw, kitten, you're gonna make me blush," Jay said, while very clearly already blushing.

"Regardless, even if this fight doesn't end it, we don't stop until it's ended," Donovan said. "That's what we do."

"Indeed," Amber said.

"Now," Donovan said, smirking, "if we can shift away from our conflict, there _is_ something I wanted to talk about."

"Oh?" Jay said.

"Yes," Donovan said. "I wanted to ask about yours and Amber's relationship."

Alice snapped to Jay, then to Amber, and said "You two used to date?"

Jay was completely frozen, unsure of what to do, afraid to even move. Amber meanwhile, coughed and sputtered in surprise, attempting to compose herself. Jay finally sighed, turning back to face the group. "Yeah, Am and I were a thing back in the day," she said.

"That's… really unsurprising, to be honest," Alice said, making them both snap to her. "What? You two _do_ have that air of 'friends to lovers then back to friends'. Jay, you even have a _pet name_ for her."

"That's not…." Jay said, before sighing again, looking at Amber. "Man, those were a weird couple months though, huh?"

"You're telling me," Amber said. "I did _not_ expect the rough and tumble merc that rescued me to be such a… romantic."

"You and me both, sister," Alice said, the two clinking their glasses.

"Is it so wrong to try and be romantic?" Jay said, wondering if the embarrassment would kill her faster than a shard of broken glass over her neck.

"Not at all, it's just that it caught me off guard," Amber said.

"What drove you two apart, if I may ask?" Donovan said.

"I just sort of realized I wasn't attracted to women, and we agreed that what we had wasn't really romantic" Amber said. "Still, we stayed close, as I'm sure you can notice." She smiled at the memories. "I was just kinda… lost. Jay was really the only friend I had then, and I guess I was desperate for something more, _anything_ more. It lead to a lot of self discovery and learning, and I'm glad it happened."

"Yeah," Jay said. "I think I kinda knew while it was happening, at least subconsciously. I knew something wasn't clicking, but I didn't wanna hurt you, so I stayed until I could figure out what wasn't right. I'm glad I could help you."

"We helped each other," Amber said, "we all did."

"Indeed," Donovan said. "We're all far different than we were when we arrived at Nikos."

Alice shook her head. "We're not different people, even though _one_ of us changed their name," she said, glaring at Donovan in a playful manner. "We're all still _us_. We're just better _us_ , you know? We were all missing pieces of ourselves, and we've finally found them."

"There it is, the quote for the night," Jay said, right as their food arrived, authentic Mistrali cuisine being placed in front of each of them. Jay once again raise her glass of water, feeling somewhat silly for toasting _water_ of all things, but did it again nonetheless. "To tomorrow, to victory, but most importantly, to _us_."

"To us," everyone repeated, clinking their glasses together, and digging into their last meal before their mission.


	59. March Towards the End of the World

Steel clanged against steel, as Jahim and Nero danced with their blades around one another, both their circular and rhythmic styles complementing and countering each other as they fought through the Emerald Forest. Jahim's hair seemed to burn brighter as he mounted his circular pattern of offense, while Nero had unlocked his blade along its circular hilt, spinning it to knock Jahim off balance and keep momentum in his favour. On one particularly strong strike, Nero braced with both his hands, shoving Jahim back as they both panted. Nero smiled, spinning his sword again.

"It's been way too long since we've sparred, man," he said, "more than a month at least. Not since my upgrades."

"Speaking of, let's see them," Jahim said, returning the smile. "You _are_ fighting a Phoenix here." Jahim breathed deep, before materializing his firey wings to punctuate the statement.

Nero grinned, pulling a second, identical sword from his back after holstering his sonic gun. He flared his wrists, and cables attached to his sound system attached to the swords' handles. Nero began spinning one, before grinning and hitting a switch on the handle. The blade split down the center, rotating and locking to the opposite end of the handle in a formation resembling a helicopter blade. He continued to spin the blade as he walked forward, accelerating to a run as Jahim did the same. As Jahim neared him, he braced himself, and leapt up and over Jahim, before turning in the air and lobbing the spinning blade at Jahim. The whirling sword impacted on Jahim's back, bouncing off his aura and into the air. Nero used the cable to reel it back into his hand, maintaining the spin's momentum with his wrist.

"Nice trick," Jahim said, turning to face Nero. Nero responded with a chuckle, before tossing the sword again. Jahim sidestepped, using a wingbeat for momentum before raising his blade. With a shout, he cleaved through the wire connected to the blade, making it soar far out. "Let's see you go wireless," Jahim said, before beginning to charge forward. As he did, his aura was clobbered again, the blade coming back and hitting his head. The impact knocked him forward, allowing the blade to fly back into Nero's hand. "Okay, what the fuck?" Jahim said as he picked himself up.

"Radio control," Nero said. "The motors in the swords respond to certain frequencies below our ability to hear, that I can pump out and control with my neural hearing implants being connected to my sound system." He activated the second sword, both of them spinning as he tossed them at Jahim before running forward. Jahim deflected the blades, before attempting to strike Nero. Nero surprised Jahim by _catching_ the blade, grinning. "Oh those frequencies? They also activate my semblance." Nero struck Jahim in the center of his chest, knocking him backward into the returning axes. The axes hit him both at his ankles and shoulders, sending him spinning forward as Nero caught the blades and ran in for the finishing blow, before being met with a column of fire. Jahim stood up, his hand engulfed in flame.

"You ready to start fighting for real?" He asked, a grin on his face.

"Have been since day one, hon." Nero replied, before tossing his blades once more. Jahim raised a plume of molten rock, making Nero steer the blades away as he avoided the downpour of magma. Jahim took to the sky, uniting his burning hands before spreading them wide, a number of flaming spheres materializing above his head before raining down on Nero. Nero caught his blades, using the spinning swords as barriers against the fiery assault as he ran up underneath Jahim. Jahim stopped the fireball rain to cast his hand downward, a flame carpet appearing at Nero's feet just as he lept into the air. Nero used his sound tech to create a concussive blast that sent him upward, and he began descending on top of Jahim as he unlocked one blade on each sword, before relocking them in a V-shaped configuration. As he fell, he hooked the blades across Jahim's Abdomen, taking him down with him. Jahim let out a burst of flame to push Nero back, as he panted.

"Jumping tech too?" Jahim asked, raising his hand to look at the now dwindling flame. "We shouldn't overdo it, we're leaving later today. Wanna call it?"

Nero quickly collapsed his swords, replacing them on his back. "Whatever you're comfortable with, J. We can eat now if you want."

Jahim nodded, dematerializing his wings and taking a seat on the grass as Nero moved to the treeline, retrieving a small bag and a blanket. Jahim chuckled as Nero tossed the blanket out, spreading it before weighing it down with rocks. "I wonder if other couples have dates like this. An all out spar punctuated with a picnic."

"Hey, don't knock it til you've had one of Ren's sandwiches," Nero said, passing Jahim his food and a bottle of water.

"You got Ren to cook for our picnic?"

"Cook is a strong word, but he did assemble some nice lil' sandwiches for us," Nero said, taking a big bite. "Try 'em!" he said around the mouthful.

Jahim shook his head at Nero's manners, before trying the sandwich, and before he could even register its quality it had vanished. "You weren't kidding. That was something else."

Nero chuckled, before moving the basket from between them and scooting next to Jahim, his hand finding Jahim's as they sat. Feeling his boyfriend's tension, Jahim upturned his hand to lace their fingers together before turning to him. "Something the matter?"

Nero sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, but it's embarassing."

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to," Jahim said.

"Nah, it's just…" Nero paused, sighing again. "We're going on the mission today. The _Big_ mission. I should be excited, mentally preparing and all that. But I'm not. I'm scared out of my fuckin' mind."

"Why?" Jahim asked.

"Do you really have to ask?" Nero asked, his grip tightening. "Amber's memories, Donovan's arm and eye, Jay's eye, your… _life_ , me getting hurt… danger just seems to follow us. We don't get out of jobs unscathed. And now we're diving headfirst into the lion's den." Nero started to shake a little bit, seeming to be using everything he had to maintain his composure. "I just… I'm so scared someone's gonna get hurt bad enough they won't get back up." Nero sniffled, and Jahim was on him in an instant, his arm around his shoulder as Nero chuckled and shook his head. "I feel pathetic, man, starting to cry 'cause I'm scared on deployment day."

Jahim shushed him as he pulled him in tighter. "There's a saying I like. Bravery isn't not being afraid, it's standing up in the face of that fear."

Nero smiled, snuggling into Jahim's grip. "You sure do have a way with words, you nerd."

"Chalk it up to being around Donovan all the time," Jahim said. "The man's more proverb than he is bison, if you ask me."

The two chuckled, and Nero wiped his eyes. "C'mon," he said, standing up. "Let's get back and get ready."

Jahim nodded, and the two packed up, heading for the school.

Later in the day, Nero and Jahim stood with the rest of their team on the airdocks, their gear being loaded and the two teams standing with Yang, waiting on their departure time. Yang walked up to Donovan, who was standing away from the others and looking out over Vale.

"Got something on your mind, Sage?" Yang asked.

"I would be worried if I didn't, really," Donovan replied, shaking his head. "I just worry is all. The possibility that this is a setup is nagging in the back of my skull."

"If it's a trap, then that's what I'm here for," Yang said. "I won't pretend I'm better than you at planning shit Sage. Even if I'm your elder, you've got a mind for it that I can't match. But what I will say is that none of you kids have seen me fight all out before. You don't have a reason to worry."

"Still, I worry anyway. I'm responsible for them," Donovan said. "If they get hurt, it's my responsibility." He chuckled. "Is this what parenthood is like?"

Yang laughed. "On one hand, that was pretty funny, and _very_ accurate. On the other," she paused, before grabbing Donovan's shoulder with her metal hand, the clawed fingertips of Lawbreaker tightening against his own metal shoulder, "what are you planning to do to my baby girl?"

Donovan paused, before turning to meet her gaze. "If I can be honest with you? I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

"Good," Yang said, letting go before slapping his back, nearly launching the faunus off the ledge to his death. "I wouldn't want my son in law to be someone of… _my_ persuasion. You're a good kid, Donovan, and a great Huntsman in the future, I'm sure of it."

Donovan smiled, before turning to the sound of a yell from the helicopter. "Time to go, everyone!"

Yang pointed over her shoulder. "Our chariot awaits."

Donovan nodded, boarding with the rest of them, sitting next to Amber, and finding her hand, her reciprocating touch soothing his anxiety considerably as the carrier took off on its overnight flight towards their destination. A large, bellowing _caw_ turned his attention to the window, smiling again as his tamed Nevermore Tobias flew beside them, following his beckoning. Donovan settled into his seat, and began preparing himself for tomorrow's endeavor.

 _She doesn't love you…_

 _It's all pity, you're just a creature…_

 _You'll be alone forever..._

 _She'll never say yes..._

Hours into the trip, in the dead of night, Jay jumped awake, sweat caking her as she panted. The felt her diamond eye, thankful that the eyepatch she wore was blocking her ability to activate her semblance. She didn't want to think of what her panicked mind would pursue in future realities that nightmare presented. She sighed, before jumping at a touch to her right. She turned, and Yang was looking at her, seated next to her with a worried expression on her face.

"Everything ok kiddo? Nightmare?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jay said, sitting back and trying to relax. "Sorry for waking you up."

"I was already awake," Yang said. "Side effect of, well, a lot of things really." She chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, we're probably not getting to sleep anytime soon. Got anything you wanna talk about?"

Jay paused, thinking for awhile, before turning back to Yang. "Just… why did you go legit?"

"Huh?' Yang said, tilting her head.

"Like, what made you go back to the Hunt?" Jay said. "I mean, for me, it was easy. I had been looking for a chance, and one came. You probably had countless chances, so what made the one you took special?"

Yang's expression darkened for a moment, before she shook her head. "It was…" she sighed. "It was a bad time. The war was over, and I was… _dealing_ with all that I'd gained and lost. I wasn't really all that stable then. My sister was about to get married, which was great, but she'd lost an eye, and her bride to be a leg, which was less great, and I'd done nothing but be hostile to everyone the entire war. It came to a head when Jaune was appointed the new head of the Hunt after Ruby refused the role, and he condemned me for not joining. I gave him an offer; he takes me in a fight, I'd be his right hand woman."

"Did he win?"

" _Fuck_ no." Yang said, perhaps a bit too loudly. "Y'know that valley past the Emerald? That didn't used to be a valley. That was me going all out."

"Jeez."

"No kidding. After that, Jaune left me alone for awhile, but said he knew that the Yang he remembered was still in there. I blew him off, still convinced Stardust was able to exist. Later that night, Blake confronted me about it. The one person I trusted seemed to be against me. My tensions were flaring, and everything was still running full tilt from the fight, and I said… the thing I regret saying most to her, maybe ever." She paused, taking a deep breath. "I told her… ' _You just don't understand! I would walk waist-deep in blood and bones, wade through a river of corpses just to crush the windpipe of the last Huntsman standing. Not because they're against us, no, I'd do it 'cause I'd_ _ **enjoy**_ _it._ '"

"H-holy shit," Jay said, looking at her with worry on her face.

"Yeah. When I said that, when I punctuated it, I raised my fist to her to kinda, like, emphasize my point. And when I did, she flinched. She expected me to hit her. My right hand, my trusted second in command, my best friend, fully expected to take a blow from me, almost without a second thought. It all just… hit me like a tonne of bricks. I thought that I didn't mean what I had just said, but when I spoke it, I realized that I did mean it, every last bit of it. It's one thing for the world to think that you're a monster. Who gives a shit? The world's wrong. But, when all you can see of _yourself_ is a monster… it destroyed me. I ran, ran back to Jaune. I told him he was right, about everything. I turned myself in, faced trial and jury, and was given a pardon on the condition that Blake and I become Huntresses and instructors. It was hard, but I managed to kinda… win the fight with myself. I came back out, and Stardust almost disappeared. I realized that I loved Blake, and she, for some reason I'll never understand, loved me back, and, well, the rest is quite literally history."

"Wow," Jay said. "I'm not sure how to respond to that."

"I'm not sure _I_ do, other than that I'm amazed I'm here with you all, with my kids, with you, you tall nugget you. You kids make me proud to be teaching you. Especially you, Ms. 'Strongest Woman in the World'."

"Ugh, I _hate_ that name," Jay said. "There are three women on this _plane_ that are stronger than I am."

"Yeah, but none of them are as good of fighters, except me, and I can't see the fucking _future_ , hon."

Jay chuckled. "True enough."

Another bellowing _caw_ carved its way through the air over the Living Mire as Tobias swooped downward over the small clearing in its center. As it did, 9 figures dropped off it, and landed in the center as the grimm flew off, cawing again as he vanished off into the horizon, and the party gathered their bearings.

"Everyone prepared?" Donovan asked.

"Yeah," Alice said. "I can finally see again," she joked, finally not surrounded by howling winds.

"Hey, uh," Jahim said, "Not to be that guy but, uh, how do we get in?"\

Jay smirked, before launching Amaryllis out of her armour and catching the sword in her hand. "The Edge of Knight members that used this entrance all had keys. This was one of them. If I draw the sword on the platform, we descend."

"Again I ask, is everyone prepared?" Donovan repeated, to a chorus of yeses and priming of weaponry. Yang put on her sunglasses, and her arm's electric motor whirred to live, lightning softly arcing between her fingertips. Donovan nodded, and turned to Jay. "Do it."

Jay nodded, unsheathing her blade, and as she did the platform lurched to life, beginning its descent. For some time, there was only darkness as the walls of the tunnel down surrounded them. Then they reached the large atrium they were to land in, and Alice gasped.

"Boss," she said, "We've got a problem."

"Indeed we do," he said as he looked over the ledge. Surrounding the platform seemed to be every Edge of Knight related footsoldier in the entire complex, the sea of bodies almost too dense to discern individual foes. "It was a trap all along."

Yang looked over the edge, and sighed. "That's why I'm here, ain't it?'

"Yang, even with you, there's more than a thousand of them down there," Alice said. "How can we fight that?"

Yang took a deep breath, before speaking in a hushed tone. "You won't. I will." She stepped forward, centering herself before speaking again. " _Tenchi no hedatari o mikiwame rarenu to wa awarenari._ " The air around her seemed to flow outward, and she raised her leg and stomped it downward, leaving a small crater around it. "Get to the center of the platform," she said, and the others followed suit. She raised her hand, and it became coated in flame. As it did, a wall of fire surrounded the platform, from the base to the top. The wall blocked the gunfire and attacks that came in as the platform landed, and Yang turned to the kids. "Stay in here, and let me handle this."

"Yang-" Jay said, but Yang cut her off with a raised hand, before turning and beginning to shout.

" **THE CHAINS ARE BROKEN, THE DRAGON FLIES FREE ONCE MORE!** "

Yang lept into the air, through the fire, before landing amidst the mass of soldiers. As she fell, she balled her mechanical limb into a fist, and struck the ground when she landed, the resulting impact causing a fiery explosion and leaving a large clearing around her. As she rose to her full height, she reached up, and removed her sunglasses. When she did, her eyes had switched to a bright crimson, and had trails of fire flowing steadily out of them. She punched her fists together in front of her, and as she did, her entire body became engulfed in flame, yet made no evidence of stressing her aura. She noticed the fearful expressions on the faces of everyone around her, and sneered.

"Take notes, you fucking cowards," she said. " _This_ is what happens when you piss off the Fall Maiden!"


	60. Wrath of the Raging Dragon

The soldiers around Yang stood in hesitation, trying to comprehend the flaming entity that stood in front of them. Yang blazed in a manner that would clearly immolate anyone else. Yet, Yang stood grinning, her hair fluttering along with the fire as her eyes burned bright. She pounded her metal arm across her chest, the electric motors in Lawbringer making lightning arc across her torso as the impact thudded through the room.

"Come on!" Yang shouted, spreading her arms. "First one's free!"

After a pause, a giant man with a hammer ran forward through the crowd. With a bellow, he brought his giant hammer into the air, the head easily being as big as Yang's entire torso. He depressed a switch on the handle, and a jet behind the base roared to life, bringing the hammer down with enough force to cause a shockwave as it impacted onto Yang's head. However, when the dust settled, Yang hadn't even budged, the impact seeming not to phase her at all. Yang shook her head underneath the hammer, seemingly disappointed.

"Well, now it's my turn."

Yang raised her right hand, the limb glowing white hot as she dashed forward seemingly instantly. As she rose from her stance after landing, the top half of the large soldier toppled from his legs, the two halves clattering to the ground. She turned, raising the still white limb, before slashing it downward into the ground. As she did, the earth split down the path she pointed at, people to either side being tossed aside, while those unfortunate to be standing on the line were slashed in half by sheer force of moving wind alone. The soldiers around her began to back up slowly, fear beginning to set in.

"What… what is she?" one soldier asked, anxiety causing him to trip over his words as he backed slowly towards the exit. Yang, noticing this, quickly raised both her hands, and solid rock walls crashed upward in the entryways, blocking any exit from the room. The few unfortunate grunts standing inside the large doorways were bloodily crushed to death as Yang sealed them all in.

"You will _not_ escape!" Yang said, turning and punching a grunt behind her, turning him to giblets. "You wanted us here! You prepared for us! Face the consequences of your weakness!" Yang thrust her hands forward, fireballs surging from her palms as she leapt into the air. She heated her arm again for another great chop, this time cleaving another large fighter in half directly. She spun on her heel, before grabbing another soldier by the neck, her hands burning his skin as she brought him close. " _Cry for me_ ," she said, as he shouted from a sudden burst of heat all through his body. She tossed the soldier over his shoulder, the surge of heat becoming fatally apparent as the man exploded, taking a large area with him. "Haha, _yes!"_ Yang shouted as she chased after fleeing soldiers. " _ **RUN FROM ME!**_ " She surged forward several more fireballs, each one obliterating a soldier as Yang cackled like a madwoman. She continued to laugh as she tore numerous more soldiers limb from limb, the blood beginning to pool under other soldier's feet. Yang noticed this, raising her hand, and causing the blood to rapidly freeze and spike upward, before continuing the effect into the blood of those stabbed, goring the fighters to death. After a few minutes of her continuous slaughter, she raised two gigantic stone walls on either side of the room around the protective fire in the center. She moved the walls together, guiding all the fighters into a narrow area in front of the blocked off door. The hundreds of soldiers caught in the area backed away from Yang, stumbling over eachother as she stood at the end of the segment. She pointed at a camera that had been watching the entire time, grinning. "You wanted us here? You've got us! I'll admit, you people have power," Yang raised her arm, and the fire around her began to recede, seeming to flow into her palm. "But," she continued, while everyone else watched in awe as the colours around them changed, seeming to be sucked into Yang's hand. All was white and silhouetted, aside from Yang, a pitch-dark inkstain with golden hair and crimson eyes that pierced the air. " _My power_ _ **MOVES WORLDS!**_ " Yang grasped the sphere in her hand before slamming it downward, the energy exploding forward in what appeared to be a torrent of ink surging at the enemy soldiers. As they were enveloped, they ceased to exist, even dust being swallowed by the mass of energy. The flow hit the wall, exploding as colour returned to the world, Yang's makeshift barrier of stone as well as her wall of fire collapsing. Yang herself had purple eyes once more, and was she muttered something unintelligible as she collapsed down into a seated position. The others gathered around her, feverently checking her for injury.

"Mom!" Amber shouted, lifting her arms and checking her for wounds, finding none. "What… what _was_ that?"

"The Ansatsuken," Jay said, walking forward, while everyone else looked at her. "She's not gonna be able to talk, so I'll fill in the gaps. That last attack burned every scrap of energy she had." Yang weakly nodded at what Jay said, confirming her statement.

"What's this 'Ansatsuken'?" Donovan asked.

"A martial art of the mind, long thought dead. It removes one's aura as a protective barrier, and injects it into their muscles. The increase in strength and durability is so dramatic that a user is basically invincible. Catch is, it practically destroys your body if you're in that kinda state for too long. And if it hits your mind, bad things start happening. Aura running through the mind is a stimulant ten times what adrenaline is, and it can cloud your judgment pretty badly, which is why Yang elected to nearly _tear a hole in space-time_ with that last attack."

"Is that what that was?" Nero asked.

Jay nodded. "When combined with her magic powers as a Maiden, Yang is able to congeal enough aura to create an extremely small star in her hand. Which she then _collapsed_. There was more than one timeline where it took us all with it, and by my spitball calculations, probably the entire _continent_ too," she said, glaring at Yang, who at this point was unconscious. "She burnt herself out. Someone is going to have to stay here and watch over her."

"I'll do it," Sienna said, snapping all attention to her.

"Sienna, are you sure?" Amber said.

"Mhm," Sienna said. "I may not be the smartest, but I know for a fact you guys are all _way_ better at kicking butt than me. I can handle anybody who comes out here, but you guys have bigger fish to fry, right?"

Amber hesitated, but nodded. "Stay safe." She turned back to Donovan. "What's our next move?"

Donovan turned, before gazing at the ground. His prosthetic eye dilated, and an image of the base was projected onto the ground. "There are still plenty of resources worth taking here to further cripple Edge of Night. Furthermore, there is still the matter of the terminal in this ballroom that holds valuable intel. We split up, and comb the base. Alice, Nao, you two head to the far east sector. There's a cache of arms there, and there could be some technology they're storing. Nero, Porfirio, you two head to their dust reserves. Turn as much of it as you can into Porfirio's blend, to make it useless to them. Jahim, Gloria, you head to the prison. Use your explosives to break the prisoners out and bring them here. Jay, Amber, you're on me. We're hitting that Ballroom, and taking that intel. Keep comms live, and remain alert. Go!"

The teams split off, each heading towards their missions, not knowing who, or what, lurked in their paths.


	61. Here Comes a Daredevil

Alice and Nao walked carefully, Nao taking the head and following the directions she was given. The cache they were to be looking into was supposedly just down this hallway, and, as expected, there had been no resistance or, well, _anything_ to stop them after Yang seemingly erased their entire footsoldier force. Nao came to a corner, and peered around it, signalling Alice to halt, before turning back to her.

"This looks to be it. Be on your guard, Alice."

Alice nodded, and followed Nao around the corner, her handcannons drawn and aimed at the large double doors. The each took breaching positions on either side, nodding to eachother before Nao kicked the door open and they both surged in, prepared to strike, looking around, and seeing nothing but weapons in the large, two storied room. The floor was completely clear, save for a few dummies meant for practice, and there was an open view to a balcony a floor up that formed a second, ringlike floor. On every wall was weapon racks, all filled to the brim with weapons. Most, upon observation, appeared to be basic firearms or melee weapons, but there were a handful that looked Huntsman-quality.

"Clear," Nao said, lowering her tome and walking towards a weapon on the wall that piqued her interest. It appeared to be a long staff, but she could sense the sheer amount of dust inside of it. She assumed it must be full of tech that allowed the dust to be used, and she pulled it off the wall, taking it in her hands. The weapon had heft, and when she stood it on its pommel, it was easily more than six inches taller than her. She turned to Alice, smiling. "I like this one."

"I do too, one of my favourites really."

Both women turned to the sound of the noise, finding nothing. Suddenly, a section of the wall near the corner seemed to peel itself off, the colours of it changing to reveal a tall, masked individual in a white suit. Their mask was smooth other than eyeholes, and had a refractive finish that gave it a rainbow-like gloss. The individual chuckled, walking forward as Nao dropped the staff and readied her tome, with Alice readying her guns.

"Chroma Balisong," Nao said.

"Ah, the girl is knowledgeable, but not up to date. I go by Knightmist nowadays," Knightmist said.

"You're outnumbered," Alice growled. "Surrender, and you'll be incapacitated peacefully. You can't win this."

"I can't win this?" Knightmist asked, before clapping his hands. As he did, countless swords, axes, daggers, and other bladed weapons tore themselves from the walls, the basic weaponry arranging themselves behind him in nested circles that spun slowly. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a normal sized balisong knife, spinning it on its case before properly folding it and pointing the tip at the girls. As he did, two daggers shot from their orbit at where they were, Alice barely shooting them out of the air in time. "You don't have any idea what you're up against."

Nero and Porfirio walked through the open double doors, looking around the cavernous room that was the dust storeroom. They stood on a narrow catwalk suspended above large vats, each one containing what looked like thousands of gallons of dust sorted by type. Nero looked over the edge, his hair being slightly ruffled by the winds of large fans circulating air on either side of the large room.

"Wow, how much dust you think is down there?" Nero said.

"Enough for me to blow this place all the way to Vacuo, that's for sure," Porfirio said with a chuckle. He continued walking forward, but paused, using a hand to tell Nero to halt as well. "Hold on." He readied his gauntlets and anklets, violet fires beginning to burn around his wrists and ankles. "It's her."

Nero raised an eyebrow, before peering around Porfirio after he caught the sound of footsteps on the far end of the catwalk. It was difficult to see in the limited light, but the figure of a woman was walking toward them, her attire simple and black, covering every inch of her skin aside from her head, which was covered by an ornate, skull-like mask. As she began to speak, the mask opened and closed, clacking as it did.

"Ah, my Lady was right, there _were_ a few inkwells here! Looks like it's not just the two Hosts here after all!"

"Hosts?" Nero said, while Porfirio turned to face her fully, death in his expression.

"You… You're the one who took my sister." He snarled.

"Oh, _Amber Xiao Long_ ," she said, her tone one of seemingly pleasure. "What a _masterpiece_ she was. My finest work, without question. If only she would have listened…"

"You're going to pay for what you did!" Porfirio shouted, engulfing his arms in flame.

"Now, now," the woman said, "Knightsnow does not take anything to be her canvas. You two are _far_ below my standards." She flicked her wrists, three blades coming out of each. "I'm not above a little abstract expression, however. Art is art, no matter how sloppily the ink is splattered on the canvas!"

Nero put a hand on Porfirio's shoulder. "Is she-"

"Stand back," Porfirio said, shrugging the hand off. "I'm going to tear her fucking throat out myself."

Nero took a step back, swallowing hard as Porfirio and Knightsnow met with their gazes, and began to run toward eachother.

"Of _fucking_ course this one's locked too!" Jahin said, grumbling to himself as he knelt down to begin picking the _fourth_ locked door in a row.

"Gee, it's almost like we're in a bloody _prison_ or sommin'," Gloria said. "Here, move, this is the last one anyway." She pushed him out of the way, before reeling back and axe-kicking the door's center. The heavy iron door flew off its hinges, clanking against the wall behind it.

"Why didn't you do that the other times?" Jahim said.

"We were supposed to be quiet!"

Jahim started a rebuttal, but let it die with a shake of his head. "This base is huge," he said, pulling up the schematics on his scroll. "This prison complex alone is as big as the Vytal stadium's island."

"All the more reason to get movin'," Gloria said, pulling up her own map. "Looks like the cells are arranged in a big circle, all around a single, large room. They've even got doors that open on that side, with ladders to let them into the center."

"A panopticon," Jahim said.

"Panopti-what now?"

"It's a hypothetical perfect prison. All the inmates could be watched at any time, so they're effectively all always being monitored. Usually there's a tower in the center, but here it's almost like a-"

A sudden roar cut them off, the sound like a muffled cheer of a crowd.

"What on Remnant…" Gloria said. "That was almost like… cheering?"

"We'd better check it out," Jahim said.

"Right," Gloria said. "Behind me." She drew her launchers, and Jahim his rifle, as the ran down the long, featureless hallway into the center of the prison. They breached the double doors with another savage kick from Gloria, and found themselves in the center of a large arena. The cheers came from the inmates, all watching from their cells as two people fought in the center, their chests bare as they clashed blades desperately.

"What is this.." Jahim said.

"This ain't a Panopti-whatever. This is a fucking Colloseum." Gloria said.

They ran up to the fighters, as one finally gained the upper hand, knocking the other to their knees as the advantaged fighter raised his sword, before chopping it downward. Jahim rushed and caught the blade with his own, stopping the exectuion.

"What is going on here?" He shouted above the seemingly frightened murmurs from the crowd.

"No… you don't know what you've done…" said the one on their knees. They shoved backward, standing up before turning to run. "He's coming! He-"

They were cut off when, seemingly out of nowhere, a titanic man appeared in front of them. The man was shirtless, his brown skin bared above the waist, while his pants were simple brown leather. His face was obscured by a wicked-looking white mask, with long tusks protruding from a twisted smile. Two pairs of horns, a smaller pair over a larger two, curved from the top of his head, and his eyes gazed through straight at the fighter.

"N-no, please, I didn't mean-"

They were again cut short as the man grabbed their head with both his hands, and effortlessly twisted it 180 degrees with a sickening snap. The lifeless body fell to the ground, as the giant began to speak.

"Any outside assistance will result in swift execution for all involved." The voice made Jahim snap to him, until he vanished again. He reappeared, again out of nowhere, behind the other fighter, who only had a moment's realization to scream before they met the same fate. The giant turned toward Gloria and Jahim, and paused. " _You_ , however, are special."

"That voice…" Gloria said, before her eyes went wide. "There's no way…"

"Tahir?" Jahim asked, instinctively readying his weapon at the thought of his brother.

"Two perceptive creatures walk into my Prison, and interrupt the game. How… _in character_ of you to be so worthless." Tahir said. "I am Tahir Farid no longer. I am Knightterror, and I exist with one purpose." He clasped his hands behind his back. "To kill you, Hamr ā."

Jahim's grip on his weapon tightened. "My name is Jahim Arc, nothing else!"

"I suppose it does not matter," Tahir said, before teleporting behind Jahim, and striking him with the force to launch him into the opposite wall well over 150 feet away, and teleporting again to drop onto him with both feet. "Your corpse won't care what name's on your tombstone."

Donovan, Amber and Jay continued down the hall, on towards the ballroom that contained the intel they sought. They had been running for what felt like an hour, endless identical, empty corridors until they reached a pair of large double doors, stretching all the way to the vaulted ceiling of the large, foyer-like room they stood in. The three looked around, seeing nothing but the same featureless, grey concrete walls around the doors, which were large and ornate, bearing several carvings; a bison, a bat, a chameleon, a giant whose carving looked more recent than the rest, and at the top of the door was a giant bird. Donovan stared at the door, as Jay piqued up and ran to Donovan, shoving him out of the way and blocking a punch from an arm that materialized out of nowhere. Several more blows followed, each one defended against until they stopped altogether. She turned to the ceiling, spying a catwalk she hadn't noticed.

"Get down here, Knightmare, before I go up there to get you myself," Jay said, as a chuckle echoed through the large room. Suddenly, a tear in the air manifested, and Knightmare dropped through it, his mask's red eyes and clawed metal fingertips glaring in the harsh artificial light.

"A bird, a bull, and a broken little girl walk into our home, and try to get into the throne room? Arrogant little sympathizers, aren't you?"

"You're outnumbered," Amber said.

"And _you're_ outclassed!" Knightmare said, before tearing the air with his semblance, striking through into the back of Amber's leg, driving her to her knees. He readied another strike before Donovan leapt on him, Knightmare having to cease and defend against the incoming spears.

"Jay! Get into the Ballroom and get the data! We can take him!" Donovan said. Jay nodded, seeming to agree, before kicking the double doors open and running inside. The doors shut loudly behind her, and Knightmare shoved Donovan backward, where he and Amber stood ready to fight against him.

"So just you and your girlfriend versus your big brother?" Knightmare said, chuckling to himself. "Poetic."

"My brother is dead," Donovan said. "I'm going to make sure that who… _what_ ever replaced him is too."

Knightmare laughed again, before reaching behind his back, and drawing a short, straight sword ornately carved along the blade with all kinds of runes and markings. He pointed the tip at Donovan and Amber, issuing his challenge. "Come on then! Finish what you started, Donovan Sage!"

Jay walked into the large ballroom, the doors behind her shutting with what sounded like a thunderclap. She scanned the room finding a long table with several chairs surrounding it. There were pillars that spanned to the ceiling, each bearing ornate standards of the insignias of the different organizations making up Edge of Night. Jay's attention was snapped to the end of the room when a voice caught her attention.

"I would say that I'm impressed you made it this far, but that would both be a lie and a disservice to your strength."

Jay looked to the far end, where a large, featureless marble throne held a woman clad in white, wooden plate armour. Her entire head was obscured by a glossy white, featureless, dome shaped mask without even eyeholes. She rose from her seat, and as she did, the table and chairs in the room sunk into the ground, creating a flat area. "I'm going to guess you're the leader of this outfit."

"And you're the Vytal Champion," The woman said. "I am the Lady Knightscape."

"Jay Merletta," Jay said. "I'm guessing you didn't lower that furniture so we could dance?"

"That would depend on your definition of the word." Knightscape breathed deep, and her mask suddenly warped, becoming in shape to resemble a demon's face. Through the eyeholes, she could see two eyes, crimson in colour, with fire trails just like Yang's coming from them. She placed her hands together, before slowly spreading them apart. As she did, elements swirled and flowed in a brilliant lightshow. When the light dimmed, a perfect katana floated in the air, and was grasped in Knightscape's hands.

Jay grinned, snapping her helmet shut and assuming her combat stance. "Alright then, I'll take this dance!"

"A duel to the death inside the dancehall at the end of the world," Knightscape said. "Come, define your fate."

Jay lept forward towards Knightscape, shouting as she began the fight of her life.


	62. Bullets and Bewitchment

Gunshots echoed through the weapons depot, as Alice continuously ran and fired, shooting her guns along with Nao's semblance at the incoming hail of swords and daggers that Knightmist launched at them. Any that were deflected seemed to pick themselves back up, and flew straight back into the orbit behind Knightmist. The man himself stood with his arms folded, doing seemingly nothing as an endless stream of blades flew at the girls. A sudden _click_ rang out, and Nao turned to Alice, her eyes going wide before she quickly rose a wall of stone in front of them. Alice quickly reloaded as the sound of steel hitting rock began filling the air.

"Got any ideas?" Alice shouted, firing around the corner only to be deflected.

"A semblance this strong always has a weakness, a caveat. We need to find it," Nao said. "You got anything big up your sleeve?"

"I have the upgrades that Oolong's been working on over the semester, but they're still prototype and it'll take me a minute to set them up."

Nao nodded, before facing the wall. " _Sotnem Rasor, nel Exxodd'Neru!_ " A runic circle manifested over the wall, and Nao's open tome glowed as the rock morphed into a giant golem. The golem was large enough to extend into the depot's second floor, and shouted as it brought a fist down where Knightmist was. "I'll buy you some time," Nao said, "but whatever you got's our best bet." She ran forward, pressuring Knightmist with various fireballs as the assassin used his semblance to direct blades into the golem's joints. The blades wedged, immobilizing one of its legs, causing the golem to shout and become more aggressive.

Alice watched with her semblance as she discarded her cloak, and then her shirt and holsters. She sighed, before rapidly tearing all of the synthetic flesh on her torso apart, leaving her full prosthesis visible. She took a deep breath, and focused on the small of her back.

"Prototype authorization override. Passcode: Six Black Heaven's Guns."

Alice put her holsters back on, and began running forward, a gun in each hand, and leapt into the air, up onto, and then off of the golem, falling onto Knightmist. As she descended, portions of her torso dislodged, and two more pairs of cybernetic arms expanded out, each pulling their own gun from the numerous ones on her holster harness. Falling down, she began firing, the limbs all acting independently, intercepting any of Knightmist's blades that were in the air, before quickly reloading themselves when they ran out.

"Impressive," Knightmist said, before pulling all his blades out of the golem, the force tearing the stone giant to pieces. He directed all of those swords at Alice, the blades beginning to orbit Alice, swooping and striking with enough frequency to occupy all of her weaponry. Knightmist turned with his remaining blades to Nao, who had her tome open and ready. She launched a blast of fire at him, which was merely deflected by a sweeping axe. He began to stride forward, similarly blocking any strike until he was directly in front of Nao. She shut the tome, and attempted to strike him with an open palm. He effortlessly caught the strike, and slashed at her shoulder with his balisong, causing her cloak to open somewhat. Burn scars were visible through the torn fabric, and as he released the arm, Nao quickly moved to cover them.

'Oh, sensitive of our appearance are we?" Knightmist said, his tone haunting. "Come on, let's see what you keep under all this gaudy fabric."

Knightmist went on the offensive, effortlessly parrying any strike from Nao while slashing her cloak to ribbons, before grasping at it and tearing it away. Underneath it, Nao was only in her pants and a small black tank, bearing much of her skin. All across her arms, shoulders, and what could be seen of her chest danced tattoos of all kinds, from chains wrapped around her wrist, to various landscapes, to even an angel. This was all in exception, however, to the enormous burn scar that ran from the left side of Nao's head all the way down her left arm to the wrist, the skin miscolored from the trauma. Nao began to backpedal, intense fear over her exposure being set in.

"Oh, come on, you were so confident when you had that girl, when you had that _dreadful_ cloak," Knightmist teased, "where did it all go? Don't tell me the fearsome tactician of Haven Academy shuts down when her secrets are laid bare." Nao tried to make a retort, but it only came out as nervous stammering. "Yeah, your parents really did a number on you didn't they? You just weren't good enough, ever." He punctuated the sentence by kicking her, knocking her into the wall. "How appropriate, you weren't good enough at the Vytal festival either." He laughed at her shocked expression. "You think I wouldn't watch that? Come on, it was too good to pass up, seeing you flounder like that after messing up my job. One single fire, and poof, you're like, well, _this_. Pathetic and weak. If only that girl were here to see you, you think she'd still care about you?" Nao's eyes widened again, and Knightmist got closer, closing his hand around her throat, and holding a knife to it. "How do you think she'd feel, seeing the confident woman she loves so much reduced to a shivering, cowering pile of misery like you are?" He dragged his blade across her face, removing what little aura she had left, and leaving a freshly bleeding cut. "I'm sure you had big plans together. How does it feel knowing that you'll never see her again, that she won't hear your last words." Nao's fear reached a boiling point, tears beginning to freely flow, and Knightmist simply chuckled. "People tend to ask me ' _Why?_ '" he said in a mocking tone, "' _Why do you do such awful things_?' This is why." He leaned in close, the tip of his knife poking at Nao's neck. "Because it's fun to kill someone. To take everything they have, and anything they could ever have, in one instant. That's wh-"

Knightmist was cut short by a blade being fired in his direction, slashing across his face quicker than his aura was able to respond in surprise. He shouted, releasing Nao who fell to the floor coughing and sputtering, landing on top of the staff she had picked up earlier. She looked, and Saw Alice, clutching half a dozen knives in each hand, surrounded by broken swords.

"Found the caveat," Alice said, breathing heavily. "Step away from her, you're down to just those blades. You can't win."

Knightmist looked up. With a majority of his blades broken, he was down to only the 4 that rotated over him. He looked back to Alice, and grinned. "I can, now that you've given me fresh stock.

Alice looked confused, before her arms began to shake. She then shouted as her arms were torn to pieces, the knives in her hands and the spares inside the mechanics of her six arms shooting out and joining the orbit. Alice fell over, her mangled stumps' uneven weight making it impossible for her to keep her balance as Knightmist began to laugh. Nao looked at the ground, but noticed the knife that had hit him wasn't moving. Nao snapped back into reality, and looked at it. It wasn't broken like the other ones. The only difference was the blood on it.

 _That's it…_

Nao looked behind her, and grabbed the staff. She knew there had to be _the_ switch, this was a huntsman weapon. She finally found it, and when she did, the top of the staff opened up, and a hooklike blade, a spearlike tip, and a hammer's head popped out of it, before setting properly. The pommel at the bottom also compacted to sharpen, and the staff became a pole-axe.

 _Okay, I really like this one_ , she thought.

Knowing she had to act fast, she swallowed before carefully dragging her hand across the edge of the blade, drawing blood and smearing it across the blade, the cut was shallow, it wouldn't impede her. She smeared as much blood as she could on the axe, and stood up, before throwing her book at Knightmist. As the book impacted, Nao held the axe out, and hoped.

" _Marb nel'adamir, Paarshul ao Roloc'!_ "

As he turned to her, the book clattering to the floor, she stabbed the pole-axe's tip into the ground, a runic circle forming under her. Her book began to glow, a circle forming under Knightmist. Before he could react, the blood vanished from the weapon, and a giant column of blood shot from the circle underneath Knightmist's feet. It only lasted a few seconds, but Kngihtmist was launched aside, his entire orbit of blades being soaked in blood, which settled into a near ankle-deep pool inside the room. Covered from head to toe in crimson, Knightmist picked himself up, looking at Nao. "What have you done?"

"Beaten you." She said, pulling the pole-axe from the ground and standing it on its pommel. She took it into both hands, and charged at Knightmist. His instinctive response to use a blade to attack failed him, as no blade responded, and a brutal swing of the pole-axe's hammer head shattered his femur, taking him to his knees. Nao quickly reversed her grip, swinging the pommel back around, hitting him in the jaw and knocking him face down into the ground, holding himself by his hands and knees. She backed up, sizing the weapon up in her hands for a moment, before heaving it heavenward and bringing the axeblade directly down into his spine, pushing him down onto his face and into the blood pool. She pulled the axe out, and nearly stumbled as she walked over to Alice, who had been sitting in the blood this entire time. She helped her up, Alice wrapping what was left of her arms around her shoulder as they kicked open the door, a torrent of blood flowing out.

"C'mon," Nao said, "let's go back to Sienna and Yang."

Alice only nodded as the two walked out of the room, Nao using her new pole-axe as a crutch. "Wait, Nao," Alice said, "Your book-"

"Is ruined," Nao said. "It was at the epicenter of that geyser. I'd only used that incantation once, and with hot water, so i wasn't sure it would work with a different liquid. Regardless, I had to use the book as a conduit, didn't have anything else around that had runes on it. Besides, I got this thing now," She said, clacking her pole-axe's pommel on the ground for emphasis. "She needs a name though."

Alice managed to chuckle. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

Jay breathed heavy, slowly moving circularly with Knightscape. Her semblance was working, but it relied on her ability to respond to the raw speed and strength of her foe. She needed to change things up, and she resorted to one of her oldest tools; distraction.

"You're one of those maidens, aren't you," she asked.

"Perceptive," Knightscape said. "I am the Winter Maiden, as Yang Xiao Long is the Fall Maiden."

"So what, you turn into a block of ice?" Jay snarked.

"Hardly," Knightscape replied with a level tone. "Every Maiden's powers are unique, but they tend to follow 4 phrases, each tied to the seasons. Yang is 'One who is all', hence her becoming her associated element of fire."

"So what're you?" Jay said, before quickly bringing her hand up to catch a strike, and then blocking the followup attack with her other hand.

"You ask a lot of questions for someone who's holding back," Knightscape said, leaping back.

Jay grinned. "You want _that_?" Jay's armour opened slightly, and her sword shot from her back, landing in her left hand. She readied the sheathed weapon at her hip, with her other hand on the handle. "Fine then, let's dance a bit more!"

Knightscape grinned under her mask, and ran a hand along the flat of her blade. The blade in turn grew in size and length, until it resembled an ancient Odachi from old Mistrali history books.

"Child, if I may impart on you one piece of wisdom?" Knighscape said, her tone changing for the first time, becoming almost chipper. "If you dance with death, lead."

Jay smiled, and pulled the trigger on her scabbard's gun apparatus, launching herself forward and drawing her blade as fast as lightning. Knighscape raised her blade to guard, but the tempest of wind flowing from Jay's dust blade veered the longer weapon, allowing Jay a clean hit.

"The question is," Jay asked, landing a bit past her, "can you keep up?"


End file.
